Gone Girl is one of my favourite books. It's dark, it's creepy, it's completely messed up - in other words, it is right up my alley. (I gravitate toward weird things, what can I say?) Gillian Flynn's unflinching portrayal of a ridiculously terrifying, manipulative person is incredible. I'm just sad I don't own a copy, but I definitely plan to rectify that as soon as possible.
WARNING: SPOILERS! Lots and lots of spoilers.
Today, I saw the film adaptation. As soon as I heard it was to be directed by David Fincher, I knew they'd definitely get the feel of the film right. And Gillian Flynn penned the screenplay - to be honest, this gave me some pause. Sometimes, when authors write the screenplays based on their books, it doesn't work out so well.
But in this case? It worked out EXTREMELY well. Gillian Flynn was not afraid to cull certain parts of her large novel for the good of the film. (And though the extended examination of the "Cool Girl" piece didn't make it into the movie, it did get mentioned, and that was something. It was addressed, but I can see why people were a little upset that it wasn't in the film to the extent that it could have been, since it is a real issue.) Everything still made sense and worked. It flowed really well. I was concerned about how they were going to make the divisions in the book clear without hitting people over the head with it. (There are distinct separations, and there are a lot of flashbacks and going back to present. It's one of the things that will also be interesting to see in a Looking for Alaska movie, but that's a whole different thing.) But the simple text in the lower corner of the screen worked really well to me. The change in Amy was also done extremely well. The clean, simple shooting style was something I really enjoyed and found was very effective, as the content is so convoluted. I loved the small titles, and the way they flashed on very quickly, just long enough to be read, and then disappeared, was really interesting. I would probably be surprised if this film didn't get some kind of editing and cinematography nominations in the coming awards season.
And let me fangirl for a second over the score. I always love Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross working together. Put them back with David Fincher, and you have got an unbeatable thematic combination. Check out this amazing article where Trent Reznor talks about making the score "Rot From the Inside". (A perfect representation of the film and the novel too!) It was haunting and disturbing, and was a big part of the reason that the film felt as dark and scary as it did.
I am sensing definite Oscar buzz for this film. I'm seeing editing and cinematography, as well as something for the score. But let's talk about the acting too.
Rosamund Pike was a beautiful, terrifying powerhouse. I will honestly be shocked if she doesn't get a Best Actress nod. I definitely think she deserves it, for performing Amy to the max - just as Amy performs Amy. All the different Amys were done brilliantly. She scared me like no other. I was very, very concerned for Ben Affleck the ENTIRE time. Anytime she was near him, especially at the end, I was on edge. (Really, the whole movie, I was on edge.) I really loved her in this role. I haven't seen Rosamund Pike in very much, and I think she's finally broken through in a bigger way.
Carrie Coon was another breakthrough for me. Again, I've seen - well, pretty much nothing in which she appears. (She does some Broadway work, which is exciting.) I'm hoping for a nod for her as well for Best Supporting Actress. She was incredible as Nick Dunne's twin sister, being just the right amount of broken and scared as she is in the novel. Nick has obviously taken on more of the familial issues than she has, but she's still a little messed up. (Yes, I also love messed up characters, is anyone surprised at this point?) I would be disappointed if she isn't announced at least once this awards season. She was incredible.
Missi Pyle was actually amazing - I love her, and she is NOT in enough films lately! She was perfect as Ellen Abbott in the few glimpses we had of her. Tyler Perry was also great as Tanner Bolt - exactly how I pictured him being, and the one liners he managed to throw out were perfectly placed. (And I don't usually like Tyler Perry, so that was surprising.)
Ben Affleck wasn't as high a point for me. Don't get me wrong, he was great - he was very smarmy and made me uncomfortable, even knowing his entire background as Nick Dunne. He was great, but parts of his performance fell a bit flat, particularly in his moments with Andie. That one's hard to explain, but he did a good job overall. In the end, especially, he was fantastic.
Neil Patrick Harris was just ALMOST creepy enough for me. ALMOST. I think this was mainly due to the fact that we didn't get as much time with Desi as we do in the novel - again, an understandable cut - but the story behind his relationship with Amy was never really told. (We never found out that he was another of her victims, and thus we didn't get to see how close she was to the mark even when making false allegations about him, as we do in the novel.) I just think with more time, we would have been able to see more of his controlling, lovesick tendencies. But in the time he had, I think he did a fantastic job; he WAS still creepy. And he dies very well! I mostly just wanted more time for him, as his utter adoration of Amy didn't really come through, and he has no chance to actually scare you. He seemed more annoyed with her. And his death was a LOT more gruesome than it is in the novel; I think that really added to the psychopath tendencies of Amy's character - in the novel, she drugs him and kills him, and doesn't bathe in his blood. (Also, she was just soaked in it for way too long! As if they wouldn't clean her up at the hospital.)
Finally, I want to discuss the nudity. There wasn't a lot - which I was fine with; the novel really doesn't involve that much - but it still irked me, as it has irked some other people, that we got extended shots of Andie's breasts, but extremely quick, almost non-existent pans over the penises of Nick and Desi. Come ON, Fincher. What's so wrong with showing them if we're going to focus on Andie in a sex scene? There wasn't even anything sexual about the scenes with Desi and Nick - well, Desi to an extent, but we got a longer shot of that. Nick was showing us he was completely clean to Amy, no wire - wouldn't we see what she sees? Hollywood has this hang up and I do wish it wasn't a thing that mattered. Just have some equal representation! (Although it was interesting that we didn't see much of Rosamund Pike either - is Amy above that? Was she so careful not to reveal herself? Just interesting - she usually had some kind of top on even during sex scenes. It's an interesting way to look at her character.)
In the end, I thoroughly enjoyed the film, and I did really feel it captured the novel in an amazing way. Amy is terrifying, and Nick going back to her despite this is also terrifying in its way. I don't think she gets away with it. Not really. There's no sequel, and Gillian Flynn has said she didn't write it to set up a sequel, but to me, she doesn't get away with it. It's an ominous ending, and she's an extreme kind of person, and that doesn't end with the ending of the book, or the movie. It's lethal and it's part of what makes the novel so intense. I thought the movie really stayed true to that feeling of intensity.
