Gone Girl

Welcome to another episode of Lights....Camera....Popcorn!

Today's review is Gone Girl.

Directed by David Fincher.

Written by Gillian Flynn.

Based on the novel "Gone Girl" written by Gillian Flynn.

Review #259

MPAA Rating: Rated R for a scene of bloody violence, some strong sexual content/nudity, and language.

Run Time: 149 min

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Cast

Ben Affleck...Nick Dunne

Rosamund Pike...Amy Dunne

Neil Patrick Harris...Desi Collings

Tyler Perry...Tanner Bolt

Carrie Coon...Margo Dunne

Kim Dickens...Detective Rhonda Boney

Patrick Fugit...Officer Jim Gilpin 

There are directors, film makers and then there are artists. David Fincher is all three.

Say what you want about some of his "lesser" films, I've gone on the record that The Curious Case of Benjamin Button was utterly awful. Having said that, regardless of my or your feelings towards this man's work there is one undeniable fact.

This mother knows how to tell a story.

Plot

With his wife's disappearance having become the focus of an intense media circus, a man sees the spotlight turned on him when it's suspected that he may not be innocent.

There's SOOOOOOO much to love about this film. I just wish I could write about it. What I will do is dive into what Fincher and company did that made this film one of his worth watching collection. The first thing this film has going for it is it's stellar cast. Gone Girl is LOADED with talented people.

Including Tyler Perry.

I know he's not everyone's cup of tea and after his dreadful performance in the equally dreadful Alex Cross, Perry seemed like a dubious choice to be among some pretty major heavyweights in the biz. The difference in performance from Alex Cross to Gone Girl stems from two very important factors. The first being the story. Secondly and more importantly is David Fincher. Perry worked with Rob Cohen on Alex Cross. That guy can't direct traffic let alone a film. Fincher is in a completely different league and level so the performance will match both Fincher's ability and vision for the work.

Of course we all know that this film is carried by it's leads. Bruce Wayn.....I mean Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike. These two are just tremendous together in every moment. The film plays out in a linear/non linear fashion so as the story progresses you can judge for yourself who to root for if at all. An argument can be made that Affleck "coasted" through this film and that his performance wasn't much to write home about. I buy that for a dollar with one little caveat. I truly feel that Fincher wanted to take Affleck/Nick Dunne down this road in order to keep us on the hook before what happens in Act 2.

The thing that must be remembered about this film is that it's a slow burn. A very sloooooooow burn. This comes off through both Pike's and Affleck's performances. As the film jumps back and forth from parts of their lives we get more glimpses of where this film is going and if you're really paying attention you'll spot some subtle hints that may lead you down the rabbit hole of this mystery. If you did then bravo for you because I consider myself as someone who catches stuff pretty quickly and I was drawn into where this story was going. A lot of that is a direct result of how well crafted the narrative was paced. The film plays in three distinctive parts that revolve around our husband and wife duo.

I would love to delve into how they play out but it would completely ruin everything.

Fincher does a great job playing out the mystery and plays with the audience as we try to Sherlock Holmes the plot.

This is both a strength and weakness.

As the story moves along beat by beat the motives of each character further unravel and then POW! you are tossed into a different world. I won't say when or how but experiencing the changeover was very fun to watch and it put this film in a new territory. The weakness part of this is that doing this properly takes time to develop and mature. The trade off is an expanded run time. Gone Girl is too long, it could have used a trim of about 10-15 minutes. This is a typical trend for a David Fincher film. He makes long films and the majority of them are thoroughly entertaining. However not even he can escape the dreaded lagging spots. The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo suffered from that and Gone Girl unfortunately does as well.

Run time aside, Gone Girl has plenty more going for it. In addition to the cast, director and thrilling story, the film has the time to make a social commentary on the media and how disruptive and influential they can be in times of current events. As Nick continues his search for Amy the press do what they do best which is cover the story they WANT not the one that's actually THERE! The media's presence in this film was so crucial that it can almost be called a character. The exposure and use of the media played a crucial role in the motives of everyone affected by Amy's disappearance. It was a subtle and at times not so subtle jab at how despicable the press can be and have been when dealing with other people's misery.

That's as spoilery as I'm going to get.

All told, Gone Girl was a terrific mystery thriller that was handled by the right guy. I'm sure that there are many other directors that could have handled this adaptation and done a great job. Darren Aaronofsky and Steve McQueen are two names that immediately pop in my head. Having said that, Fincher has a knack for getting every last ounce of drama and tension in a film that's loaded with it. Gone Girl may not float everyone's boat but it's worth your time if your in the mood to get "lost" in a whodunnit story.

Get the "lost" joke? My cheesy pun for the day.

On that note it's on the score.

On the 5 star scale. Gone Girl gets 4 stars with a "Worth Every Penny!" recommendation.

That's a wrap for today.

Until Next Episode...."I'll Save You A Seat!"

"D"