Cast: Ben Affleck, Rosamund Pike,
Neil Patrick Harris; Story and Screenplay: Gillian Flynn; Cinematographer: Jeff
Cronenweth; Editor: Kirk Baxter; Musical Director: Trent Reznor, Atticus
Producers: Leslie Dixon, Bruna Papandrea, Reese Witherspoon;
Genre:
Drama-Suspense;
Location: Missouri;
Distributor: Sony Pictures Classics;
Running Time: 149 minutes;
Technical assessment: 4
Moral Assessment: 2.5
MTRCB : R13 CINEMA
rating: V18
Nick Dunne (Affleck) comes home on his 5th wedding
anniversary but instead he finds his house in disarray and his wife, Amy
(Pike), missing. The media pick up on the story as Amy is a celebrated New York
children’s book author and the entire community begins to support the search
for her. The local police, led by Detective Boney (Dickens), uncover a trail of
clues supposedly left by Amy for Nick’s anniversary treasure hunting, and
evidence against Nick’s violent nature and murder cover up begin to surface.
The Nick and Amy love story unfold from opposing views of Nick’s narration and
Amy’s diary, but the truth is soon learnt.
David Fincher’s Gone Girl is a flawless adaptation of its
literary counterpart. Viewers hold their breath as much as the readers did at
every turn of Gillian Flynn’s book. The plot is a genius of a narrative with
unexpected reveals and intelligent developments. The unparalleled timelines and
non-linear storytelling heighten the tension of the mystery like the flawless
icing of a perfectly baked cake intoxicating the viewers to hang on to each
scene. Love gone sour is not a new storyline but in the creative visions of
Flynn and Fincher, the ill-fated Nick-Amy love affair turns brilliantly
evocative. Affleck, Pike and Dickens deliver a restrained but powerful
interpretation of their characters. So do all the other supporting and minor
casts who play their roles with deliberate passion and rawness. The screenplay
is witty and almost haunting. There are several memorable and quotable lines, not
only because of the cadence and rhythm but because viewers feel these lines are
spoken directly to them. The ending might not work well with everyone but it
does disturb deep enough to make the viewer flinch and rethink his personal
life. Gone Girl is one of those masterfully adapted films that work with or
without the book.
Gone Girl pokes at two things: marriage on trial and media
giving trial. On the one hand, we see ordinary couple falling in and out of
love, building and breaking a relationship. While Amy’s character has some
psychological issues that probably rationalize her crimes, we have to see how
Nick and Amy decided to move on with their marriage when faced with a financial
crisis at first and emotional crisis eventually. Marriage needs work from both
parties. Working to keep the marriage requires two ingredients: honesty
and selflessness. These go beyond simple commitment and
romance because when a partner decides to live for himself and bend the truth,
a relationship is doomed.
On the other hand, we see how razor sharp media is in
sensationalizing to the point of satire. Did media live up to its purpose to
expose the truth or a truth that sells? Did media become a stronghold for the
voiceless or was it merely a reenactment of selective voices that make the
ratings? Media in Gone Girl is a mockery
of the profession as it is in real life these days. Sadly, a lot of people
choose to buy and swallow sensationalism rather than become discerning and
informed viewers.
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