Gone Girl (2014) has an interesting plot with sinister intentions but I’m not convinced it’s a great thriller. This is why I’m about to read the book by Gillian Flynn to see whether the film is the poor relation rather than the storyline itself.
There’s nothing wrong with the acting; Rosamund Pike (Amy Dunne) and Ben Affleck (Nick Dunne) played their parts well. I just felt the lengths to which Amy goes in her vendetta was a little far fetched and the timeline of events just didn’t add up to me, but again, this could be a failure of the film and not the writing.
So what did I like? Well, for me the so-called ‘plot twists’ that everyone raves about wasn’t what grabbed me. It was more how I felt myself changing allegiance more than once between Amy and Nick, before it was revealed what was actually going on. I think the chilling aspect of this whole story is how a person can manipulate the media in order to get what they want. Clever. It’s all based on assumption and perception, leaving one of the characters in a terrifying position. This is what makes the ending all the more unsettling…what’s your next move? Are you going to get out of this one alive?
Gone Girl shines a light on toxic relationships; a melting pot of lost identities, forgotten dreams and resentment. It poses that disturbing question: do you really know your spouse/partner/lover at all? Chilling to the bone. I’d rate this film 3.5 out of 5. There’s enough in it to hold your interest, but for me it loses its way somewhere in the middle. But I’m hoping the book will change my mind!
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