Having
read the book, we couldn’t resist seeing this film, especially after all the rave
reviews. Yesterday I pretended to be an art critic so today I’ll pretend to be
a film critic.
Lauded as a thriller, criticised as
misogynist, Gone Girl is really all
about illusion, not just the central plot in which Amy (Rosamund Pike) creates
the illusion of having been murdered by her husband Nick (Ben Affleck) but in all
the many different illusions that can be created by skilful image management.
Amy
is the victim of a publishing phenomenon, a series of children’s books written
by her parents in which she is portrayed as ‘Amazing Amy’, a sort of pre-teen
supergirl, and, though she is anything but, the illusion has stuck with her in
real life ever since. Her marriage to Nick is an illusion, happy on the outside
but crumbling beneath, and though the deception is maintained for appearance
sake Amy has befriended a neighbour to whom she confides that Nick is violent
and controlling, at best an exaggeration, at worst a lie, but the illusion is
all that matters. A hideous female TV presenter, knowing how best to ramp up
viewing figures, aims broadsides at Nick that suggest he is a killer but Tanner
(Tyler Perry), Nick’s Attorney – ‘the patron saint of wife killers’ – knows all
about illusion too and lectures Nick on how to present himself sympathetically on
TV so that viewers will side with him. Nick’s bit-on-the-side Andie (Emily
Ratajkowski) is in reality a sex-hungry young vamp but dressed up for a TV
interview in a high-collared white blouse, her hair straightened and parted in
the centre – ‘like a Mennonite’ – she creates the illusion that she’s a wronged
innocent. When towards the end of the film Amy returns from her ‘ordeal’, the
blood of her ‘abductor’ still dripping from her skin, she runs into Nick’s
arms to the delight of rubberneckers and TV crews outside their home. “You
fucking bitch,” whispers Nick into her ear as the crowds applaud the
illusionary happy ending.
The
film is faithful to the book (apart from a final, rather unnecessary, twist).
On their fifth wedding anniversary Amy disappears from the marital home in
Missouri where she and Nick have moved after losing their cool media jobs in
New York. There are signs of a struggle and, at first, it seems she has been
abducted. Only later, after she’s been gone for several days, does circumstantial
evidence planted by Amy point to Nick being her killer. But without a body or a
confession the police can’t make a charge stick. Amy, meanwhile, is on the run
but her (extraordinarily) carefully laid plans come unstuck when she is
relieved of her cash and as a result turns to Plan B which involves a rather
creepy but immensely wealthy ex-boyfriend who is still besotted with her. Then
things get very nasty indeed.
Rosamund
Pike is brilliant as the scheming, wronged woman, sexy and slinky when the role
calls for it but equally convincing as the frumpy Amy who’s the ‘gone girl’ of the title, scenes for
which she was obliged not just to switch character (and accent) but to put on
weight. Ben Affleck plays his part in stoic fashion, perhaps a bit too much so,
and his rather passive reaction towards his predicament seems at times as
implausible as the plot itself. It certainly adds to the perception of his
guilt – if that was the intention. At two hours and 25 minutes it’s a long film
but it never drags and even though I knew the plot and how it would resolve I
was on the end of my seat most of the time. Author Gillian Flynn has done a wonderful job turning her book
in a screenplay that includes plenty of sharp, occasionally witty, dialogue,
twists and turns galore and a rather enigmatic ending that reiterates the
opening scene. It also opens the doors to a sequel.
No comments:
Post a Comment