Ratings: 8.0/10
Film Class: B
Genre: Suspense Thriller
Gone Girl is a disturbing film about the disappearance of the wife of Nick Dunne (Ben Affleck), your seemingly average Joe living in a small town community. Things started to get interesting when the story gradually unfolded, but took a turn for the twisted, yes twisted, not just twist, when the 2nd half of it slit opened like a can of worms. There was one particular in-you-face gross scene, Hostel-style but for most parts of it, it was mental, psychological.
When I walked out of the cinema, it made me appreciate the mundanity of our world. It was such a relief to step out of the warped reality I was sucked into. Yup, it's that kind of film which makes you more sane after. Let's just say that if all marriages are this delusionally twisted, I bet no sane person will ever wish to get married in the first place. It exaggeratedly portrayed an extreme side of marriage only a sadist would enjoy.
It's the epitome of sociopathic films, kinda reminds me of Mulholland Drive and Blue Velvet, the same feel, just that it's more mainstream. Definitely falls into the category of my "wall of weird", mentally creepy movies.
I didn't like the overpowering use of background sound and music during a couple of flashback scenes, and most parts of the nudity was uncalled for. They neither built sexual tension nor added any value to the plot, more like awkward quickies here and there.
What I did like was how the film seems to be like a 2-part anthropology series - the first part is what we see from the trailer, and what we think we know, but the 2nd part just went totally "off" course... It was unpredictable for me, and I'm sorry that without warning, I've kinda spoilt the 2nd part for you. But don't let what you think you know stop you, because the mental and "feel" aspect of it can only be experienced, not explained.
Acting wise I thought Carrie Coon, Ben Affleck's on-screen sister, was one of the best. As for Rosamund Pike, the vanished wife, I have mixed feelings about. It was weird to watch her intended "false" acting, more soap opera-ish than spooky, but there was a segment which I thought she nailed it. To protect whatever suspense is left, I shan't elaborate on but let's just say the ending is definitely gonna be one you won't expect. While it left most of the audience flabbergasted, I thought it was the best possible outcome to bring back the realism of failed marriages.
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*Warning, major spoilers ahead. Do not read on if you don't want the storyline spoilt for you*
I need to get it off my chest... the part that I liked most about the film, the reason why it has a rating of 8.0 even though it doesn't sound that fantastic is because of the reason that Rosamund Pike returned to her husband - delusioned love. Well, at least that's the direct reason given in the film.
When she came back to him after disappearing for that long, after killing and framing her ex-lover who helped her, it was just weird to me. It was too sudden and the flow felt hasty, as if the director needed to end the film quickly after dragging for so long... But that one scene, close to the ending scene by which she explained her reason for doing so, though warped, was pretty sweet. Though delusional, who would have thought a sociopath could actually really fall in love? And when you bring a sociopath into the picture, almost conveniently, you wouldn't need much explanation because the things that they do and their rationalisms are all warped in the first place.
Not sure if I'm overthinking things but indirectly, perhaps the director is trying to tell us that Ben Affleck is a sociopath as well, more subtle, more hidden. Thinking back, even though his wife has vanished, him having sex with his affair in his sister's house and blatantly lying about it the next day in front of the hundreds of volunteers was further proof that he was perhaps a sociopath himself. As much as the audience would like not to see it, the deal breaker was the part where he convincingly allowed himself to be interviewed on-screen (though not live but one-take nonetheless) that he yet again blatantly lied about his wife, to his wife, to the rest of the world. And it was that same scene which convinced her that he does indeed love her.
To finally back it up, the choice of Ben Affleck for the very last scene might just prove my theory right - that he decided to be with her still after all that she had done to him. In a way, like attracts like. Maybe, just maybe, "Gone Girl" refers not just to the literal meaning of Rosamund Pike being gone, but also that sociopathic part of her who hated her husband so much, yet was able to finally let it go...
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*Warning, major spoilers ahead. Do not read on if you don't want the storyline spoilt for you*
I need to get it off my chest... the part that I liked most about the film, the reason why it has a rating of 8.0 even though it doesn't sound that fantastic is because of the reason that Rosamund Pike returned to her husband - delusioned love. Well, at least that's the direct reason given in the film.
When she came back to him after disappearing for that long, after killing and framing her ex-lover who helped her, it was just weird to me. It was too sudden and the flow felt hasty, as if the director needed to end the film quickly after dragging for so long... But that one scene, close to the ending scene by which she explained her reason for doing so, though warped, was pretty sweet. Though delusional, who would have thought a sociopath could actually really fall in love? And when you bring a sociopath into the picture, almost conveniently, you wouldn't need much explanation because the things that they do and their rationalisms are all warped in the first place.
Not sure if I'm overthinking things but indirectly, perhaps the director is trying to tell us that Ben Affleck is a sociopath as well, more subtle, more hidden. Thinking back, even though his wife has vanished, him having sex with his affair in his sister's house and blatantly lying about it the next day in front of the hundreds of volunteers was further proof that he was perhaps a sociopath himself. As much as the audience would like not to see it, the deal breaker was the part where he convincingly allowed himself to be interviewed on-screen (though not live but one-take nonetheless) that he yet again blatantly lied about his wife, to his wife, to the rest of the world. And it was that same scene which convinced her that he does indeed love her.
To finally back it up, the choice of Ben Affleck for the very last scene might just prove my theory right - that he decided to be with her still after all that she had done to him. In a way, like attracts like. Maybe, just maybe, "Gone Girl" refers not just to the literal meaning of Rosamund Pike being gone, but also that sociopathic part of her who hated her husband so much, yet was able to finally let it go...
