Gone Girl
Writer: Gillian Flynn (Screenplay and Novel)
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 James Gilpin), David Clennon (Rand Elliott), Lisa Banes (Marybeth Elliott), Missi Pyle (Ellen Abbott), and Emily Rataijkowski (Andie Fitzgerald).
Nick (Ben Affleck) and Amy Dunne (Rosamund Pike) 5th wedding anniversary is coming and Nick is expected to play there scavenger hunt game. Nick seems a bit distressed, not wanting to be there, enters the bar that he co-owns with his sister, Margo (Carrie Coon). They play a board game, while talking to her brother, behind her a collection of games thrown in a pile, a discussion about Amy (Rosamund Pike), the mood seems a bit dark.
On the way home, Nick (Ben Affleck) notices that his cat is outside, waving to the neighbor in gratitude, he proceeds to enter the house, walking upstairs as usual, calling for Amy (Rosamund Pike) which he realizes she isn't home. As he continues to go through his usual routine, he notices somethings is out of place, glass smashed on the floor, furniture moved around, something is amiss. Nick (Ben Affleck) starts to panic, a desperate attempt to locate his wife, he goes through the house, and realizes this was a break in, calling the police was the only option, "where is Amy."
Afterwards the police arrive, Detective Rhonda Boney (Kim Dickens) goes through the house while asking Nick questions about Amy (Rosamund Pike). Placing stickers throughout the house, something that looks out of place, shedding some kind of light into a dark moment. The questions range from "what is Amy's blood type?" to "Does she have any friends?" questions that were difficult to answer, because Nick (Ben Affleck) doesn't know any of the answers to it, hesitating, tired, frustrated, he tries to comprehend the complexity of the situation, only making it worse by answering badly, his desperation continues, making it look as if he were hiding something.
The investigation begins and Nick again being questioned by police, "Where were you?" "What is her blood type?" answering without thought, the investigators, Detective Rhonda Boney (Kim Dickens), and Officer James Gilpin (Patrick Fugit) continue to pound Nick about Amy, only this time they notice Mr. Dunne having some kind of an anger moment.
Rosamund Pike (Amy Dunne) nominated for best performance by an actress in a motion picture (Drama), Golden Globe. Nominated for leading actress, BAFTA film awards, ACCA, leading role awards a winner, This actress deserves these awards for her superb job. I usually try not to mention the awards but in the case for Rosamund Pike i wanted to. Award shows in my opinion are a waste of time, but as i become more of a critic, you must understand why? these ceremonies are so important. Imagine getting a raise at work, your boss telling you "Nice Job" a compliment is noticed, making the employee feel good about themselves. Understanding it more, these performances are acknowledged and the one getting the award is in the spotlight, thanking folks for the award.
Ben Affleck to those who? know me understand I'm not a huge fan of his work, each time i criticize his work this actor manages to sneak in a really good performance. Films i like by him are as follows, The Town, Good Will Hunting, and Dogma. Gone Girl was well acted, and should be recognized for his performance, which was wonderful as Nick Dunne. Sometimes actors go through films, one after another and it becomes a drag because you know they could've done better. Notice i didn't mention Argo, even with the best picture win, i really didn't like his performance, it's just me, maybe I'm a bit picky, but i really believe Ben over acted for that part. But, going back to Gone Girl, his performance was stellar, made me want to watch the film, and when i heard there was a longer version to the film, i wanted to check it out, never the less this film is worth the wait.
Story: The wonderful piece to this film is not just the look but the way it was written, a big Kudos! to Gillian Flynn who wrote a masterpiece. I guess writers sometimes do not get the credit they need, and to me the story is the core, it should be look at as a doorway, enter here and all will be known, choose your path. Writing can be a bit overwhelming, but if you love it, do it, the determining factor to a good piece of work verses a bad one. The screenplay to those of you who aren't film geeks like myself; is dialog with a description on what that character is doing in that scene. Divided into parts, scenes, sometimes the translation from book to film isn't as good, the factor lies with the direction the screenplay takes you. The screenplay is also how long the film will be, a good example of this would be, 80 pages of a screenplay is 80min of screen time. Writing is hard work, ideas are processed and given to big time studios which might give your film a chance, it depends on the content, and draw that it has.
Film: The director David Fincher is said to be particular about what he does, to me is pretty cool, because his desire and determination, is looked upon as picky but, maybe that's what we need. The case of Gone Girl, which i believe all directors should follow his style of direction because it works. The scenes are smooth, your never at risk at losing your place. The next time your sitting, watching a film take a minute to notice the scenes, are they choppy? is the trasition smooth. As crtic you notices the scenes that work, in the case of Gone Girl, the scenes were smooth, it moved, everything made sense, never lost between scenes, that edgy moment.
Overall: The quality and smoothness of the film is really good, especially the point of view from the main characters. The process and scenes are done well, this movie is an example of good film making. Gone Girl is one of those movies that make you cringe, hate, love, all the emotions put into one.
Comments