It’s been a while since a wide release film has hit theaters where I think we have a legitimate reason to open up a discussion thread, but I feel David Fincher‘s Gone Girl fits the bill. I know many of you saw it last night and I have to assume a lot of you will be seeing it this weekend so let’s hear your thoughts and yes, spoilers are welcomed.
Here are some snippets from my review, which you can read in full right here, that might help get the conversation started:
Gone Girl is airport fiction, but it’s airport fiction David Fincher (Se7en, Zodiac) has directed with every last fiber of his being, turning it into a film where its story almost gets in the way of its thematic quandaries. What’s more, in a movie review I can only skirt some of the more intriguing aspects of the movie so as not to spoil the twisted delight you get from watching it unfold for yourself and the discussions you’ll be having as you walk out of the theatre…
Flynn also wrote the screenplay, slicing her 420-page book down to where Fincher has turned it into a 149-minute movie filled with social commentary, dark satire and bits of tension relieving humor. It works, largely, because Fincher directs it in such a way that allows us to take part in the darkness and soapy melodrama, while at the same time laughing at it. A key line from Tyler Perry, playing the stereotypically-named high-profile attorney Tanner Bolt, gives the audience a massive jolt of relief in the waning moments as we slowly realize how all this will end for Nick, a husband who finds himself in the middle of a media storm and accusations he may have something to do with his wife’s disappearance…
It’s these kinds of questions that will have you in suspense, these questions as well as declarative statements such as “That’s marriage“, coldly received like something of a death blow as Gone Girl is not only a murder mystery, but an exploration of matrimony, the challenges that test a relationship and when things start to go bad, who’s to blame or is there a measure of mutual complicity? The way Gone Girl is told it’s almost as if we’re the judge and jury in a divorce proceeding, asked to find fault amid a tidal wave of conflicting information…
I believe those that have read the book will be at an advantage heading into the theater. You already know how it’s going to play out. You can pay closer attention to the smaller details peppered throughout and the larger themes explored within every seen. Seeing it come to life on the big screen will have you noticing details, movements and motivations you weren’t privy to while reading as the mystery fades away and more pressing, cultural questions become increasingly important.
I plan on writing some more about it next week, and I’d love to include some thoughts, theories, takes on some of the film’s themes, etc. from you so have at it in the comments below and let’s see if we can keep the conversation going throughout the weekend.
