(Image courtesy of 20th Century Fox)It’s been nearly 24 hours since I exited the theater showing “Gone Girl.” Yet, I can’t stop thinking about it, not just because of the many twists and turns or because of Ben Affleck's and Rosamund Pike's outstanding performances, but because it’s so emotionally draining.
The film tells the story of Nick and Amy Dunne (played by Affleck and Pike respectively), who initially seem like a married couple who are absolutely head over heels in love with each other. However, on the morning of their fifth anniversary, Nick wakes up to find Amy is simply gone. An investigation is launched and all signs point to murder — with Nick being the leading suspect. He's suspected not because any evidence seems to make him a suspect; the suspicion is just based on how unlikable he is.
And boy, is he unlikable. Affleck absolutely nails the performance here, teetering on the edge of being incredibly likable and unlikable simultaneously. You really want to feel for the guy, but at the same time, there’s something about him that rubs you the wrong way just enough for you to actually enjoy watching his life turn to shambles before his very eyes.
Pike is wonderful as well, and both actors turn in very nuanced performances which require them to portray multiple emotions and facades at various times. Carrie Coon is fantastic as Nick’s sister, Margo, who may very well be the most sane character in the entire film. The biggest surprise to me, personally, though was Tyler Perry's excellent acting. I’ve never been a big fan of his Madea character and frankly think the joke has run its course, but here he proves that when given substantial enough material, he can turn in quite the performance.
The film’s pacing is a bit off, taking about 20 minutes to really get going, feeling a bit distant and cold at first. But once the film finds its footing, it’s simply superb. Told via flashback as well as in the present with narration shifting between Nick and Amy, the shifting and contrasting viewpoints make for fascinating storytelling.
Screenwriter Gillian Flynn, who adapted her own novel, does an excellent job of showing how her characters are feeling internally by expressing it via monologue while at the same time showing how they’re expressing it outwardly by showing their actions. Title cards that show how many days have gone by since Amy’s disappearance are used in moderation and make for quite the effective plot.
Directed by the legendary David Fincher (“Fight Club,” “Se7en”) the film looks fantastic. The color palette is as cold as the characters seem.
What Fincher does so wonderfully with the film, though, is maintaining neutrality with the characters. He never chooses one side of the story to endorse or shed more light on, letting audiences decide for themselves what that characters' intentions are, leaving things just ambiguous enough to allow audience members to project their own thoughts and feelings into the characters tales.
Audiences should be left feeling uneasy, realizing that the false moral grounds the film depicts are an incredibly close reflection of the society in which we live.
“Gone Girl,” above all else, is a film about storytelling. It’s a commentary on whose story is true, and whether or not the truth (or lack thereof) is even necessary at all. While the film makes it clear who audiences should ultimately view as the good guy and the bad guy, it leaves things just open enough to let them decide for themselves.
The film is yet another outstanding entry onto the résumé’s of everyone involved and honestly is one of the best roller-coaster experiences I’ve had at the theater in as long as I can remember. Perhaps the best film of the year so far, the 148 minutes have their ups and downs and will surely keep audiences on the edge of their seats until the credits roll.
5/5 Pitchforks
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