Gone Girl
Released October 2014

”Gone Girl” is an American thriller, mystery released in 2014 and taken from the book of the same name written by Gillian Flynn (published in 2012). It was directed by David Fincher and produced by Leslie Dixon, Bruna Papandrea, Reese Witherspoon and Cean Chaffin. Gillian Flynn wrote the screenplay and Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross wrote the music. It stars the very talented cast of Ben Affleck, Rosamund Pike, Neil Patrick Harris, Tyler Perry, Carrie Coon, Kim Dickens, Patrick Fugit, Casey Wilson, Missi Pyle and Sela Ward, among some. Critics have called this film brilliant and suspenseful.

Gone Girl IMDb webpage

The story begins with the disappearance of the main character´s wife, Nick Dunne (played by Ben Affleck). She vanished with only small clues of a struggle. As the police investigate the case and Nick pleads to the media public opinion turns against the main character.

As the investigation progresses we get a clearer picture of Nick and his wife Amy Elliott-Dunne, played by Rosamund Pike. We see what their marriage was really like and the dynamics that made it that way. We also see what type of people they really were behind their masks.

Nick is a not-so-successful and even lazy person while Amy is a very angry, self-entitled person. She has some very disturbing crimes in her past which include false rape charges on a former boyfriend. As Nick investigates his wife´s disappearance we gradually learn more about him. This is a film of self-inspection where the main character is forced to take an honest look at himself, as he gradually discovers who his wife really is. It´s the story of a couple who refuse to remove the masks and facades they wear with each other and the heavy cost of such deceptions. The mask Amy wears is one of a nice and stable woman but underneath her mask she is really a very dangerous and manipulative person who falsely accused her ex boyfriend Tommy, played by Scoot McNairy of rape and ruined his life. She also kills an ex-boyfriend named  Desi Collings, played by Neil Patrick Harris, whom she filled false paperwork on too.

This film and probably the book too is a social commentary on gender relations in the Western world. The way the case against Nick progresses shows society´s inability to judge and handle a situation with objectivity when gender stereotypes are thrown in. Amy is clearly a dangerous person but society ignores that fact because of her gender, so she continues to wreak havoc in the lives of those close to her. Picture a serial killer movie where the serial killer talks his or her way out of every conviction because those investigating it have their objectivity hijacked by their stereotype conditioning. That is why I loved the character of detective Rhonda Boney, played by Kim Dickens. She really is the Sherlock Holmes of this story asking the good and relevant questions. She follows the facts like a bloodhound and doesn´t give in to fanciful theories.

This movie is good mystery and even the parts that seem predictable lead the viewer down a path of discovery and contribute to the story flow. I highly recommend this movie.

 (Commentary by www.ink2quill.com )
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