David Fincher's new movie is a supremely well-made and gloriously stylized piece of craft, displaying remarkable vision.
David Fincher is known as one of the great auteurs of our time. He's responsible for a great number of highly beloved movies, most notably "The Social Network" and "Fight Club". This new film, "Gone Girl", is a very direct adaptation of its source material, the novel by Gillian Flynn, and that shows in its structure, for better and for worse. This new movie is superb, showing the combined vision of Fincher and Flynn, boasting an ever-increasing amount of style and being consistently engaging.
Nick Dunne (Ben Affleck) is married to Amy Dunne (Rosamund Pike), and they've been married for five years. However, on their anniversary, Amy has gone missing. Revealing much more would be a spoiler, as this film retains its source material's illusory nature. Nothing is as it seems, and discovering new things about the characters is fascinating, especially due to the excellent way that the facts are eventually revealed. First, it's a normal thriller, but when it reaches that conclusion, it fold back upon itself, slowly but surely turning everything we know upside down. Then it turns itself inside out again, until the movie contains so many twists that it's almost exhausting.
Indeed, the film is structured very much like a novel. The chapters can be felt on-screen, to the point that the passage of time is elongated in the film. It's not a short film, but it feels considerably longer than it is, largely due to the fact that it has so many twists. The story has a relentless pace, and while it's never dull and always engaging, it feels so very long. Now, I mention that it's "almost" exhausting. The compelling nature of the narrative keeps it from ever getting to that point, and especially in the second half it's difficult to look away. Flynn's source material was already acclaimed as being relentlessly gripping, and Fincher's visionary style brings her words to life. It's a film that captivates up to the very end.
Affleck and Pike send in brilliant performances, fitting their characters excellently. At times Pike's Amy is a bit over the top, but she's gripping throughout the whole thing-saying much more would give away too much. Meanwhile, Affleck seems perfectly fit for the role-affable enough not to be threatening, but twisted enough to introduce some doubt. Doubt is, indeed, the name of the game in Gone Girl. The facts are elusive, and knowing what's true and what's not is at its most difficult midway through. Again, I can't say much more.
The film is unhinged almost from the beginning, with a slight aura of discomfort around it. As it goes on, it becomes more and more insane that it has a few small moments where the style drowns out the film's coherence. It all threatens to overwhelm, and at times unfortunately it does. It all comes down to an ending that begs to be talked about, yet can't be talked about without giving away all that happens in the film. All I can say is that it's very frustrating, and reading about the small ways it differs from the novel make it even more frustrating.
This film, as a whole is very difficult to write about. What can I say without giving too much away? I can say that "Gone Girl" is an excellent-not perfect, but excellent-movie, though it might make you feel unclean, especially with the frustrating ending. That and its lengthy feel do drag it down a bit, but this is a product of vision, and a film that deserves to be watched. Just be ready to feel icky afterwards.
9/10
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