Amazing Amy

GONE GIRL proved to be worth all the hype. I had not seen David Fincher's recent films, but determined to see this one before knowing too much about it, so it was off to an early screening yesterday morning - I like early screenings with not many there, so no distractions from people texting or chatting nearby! These thing annoy as one gets older and crankier ... good to see trailers for THE IMITATION GAME, FURY etc too - lots of good stuff coming up for next Awards season!

I can now start the novel by Gillian Flynn - who also did the screenplay. The score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross is outstanding too and complements the visuals perfectly and the air of menace and tension created by Fincher. Razor sharp and incisive, its a dark and complex look into a nightmare marriage in the guise of a thriller. It's a nasty piece of goods but it's dealing with some unhealthy people as our golden New York pair of writers lose their jobs and re-locate to a bland estate in rural Missouri, as resentments pile up. We soon see that Ben Affleck's Nick is not such a nice guy, while Amy has her own agenda, as we see her becoming scared of him. We cannot go into the plot too much at this stage ... I love the placid cat. 

On the occasion of his fifth wedding anniversary, Nick Dunne reports that his wife, Amy, has gone missing. Under pressure from the police and a growing media frenzy, Nick's portrait of a blissful union begins to crumble. Soon his lies, deceits and strange behavior have everyone asking the same dark question: Did Nick Dunne kill his wife?

I liked her speech on becoming the 'cool girl' that the guys go for, and how the story is told from both his and hers points of view as they edit and present their versions of reality, the facade we present to others. She does not want to become the "nagging shrew" or controlling wife but is dismayed at his becoming a slacker running a bar she bought for him. It probably is misogynistic, but no more so than others of its type - though I liked THE WOLF OF WALL STREET as per my recent review (below), I thought that was totally misogynistic.  but its certainly a roller coaster ride through the new recession-hit America and also satirises the cannabilistic news media and those harridan tv interviewers, the sob sisters who latch on to human interest stories and bleed them dry.

Rosamund Pike has been around for some time, ten years or so, she is a perfect Hitchcock blonde and indeed did a play titled HITCHCOCK BLONDE here several years ago, which made her name, then she spent some time playing dull girlfriends.. The part of Amy here needed someone not that well known to the general public. I think she and Cumberbatch (the Alan Turing role is the ideal lead for him after all those smaller parts) will be the main contenders come next award season. The supporting cast including Kim Dickens, Carrie Coon, Tyler Perry are all fantastic. Ben Affleck is surprisingly right here too. 

The Variety and Hollywood Reporter reviews go into a lot more context ...... without giving too much away :

http://variety.com/2014/film/reviews/film-review-gone-girl-1201308847/

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movie/gone-girl/review/734451

As IMDB puts it: Definitely worth seeing on the big screen, GONE GIRL is dark, beautiful, terrifying, tense and at times humorous. It's a film you'll be talking about for days afterwards.