I went into this film with an enormous amount of respect for David Fincher for his directing in both Fight Club and Se7en (Panic Room and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo were also well done but nothing special). Gone Girl was quite a disappointment. There was very little to this movie other than Pike's performance that stood out as anything above mediocre. Fincher was certainly not at his best and neither was Affleck.
Acting
Ben Affleck:
I should preface my analysis of Affleck’s performance in
this film by mentioning that I consider him to be a middle of the road actor.
He’s come a long way since Good Will Hunting in which he helped write a unique
and good screenplay but acting-wise he did little more than ride the coattails
of Matt Damon’s success as his talentless, childhood friend. Since then he’s played the painfully annoying
Captain Rafe McCawley in Pearl Harbor, Daredevil (a film so bad the audience
wishes they had been blind after seeing it), Doug MacRay in The Town in which he
came off forced and overly dramatic. Argo, however, was a pleasant surprise and
Affleck seemed much more natural in his role as Tony Mendez.
His performance in Gone Girl was somewhere between MacRay and Mendez. At times Affleck seemed very believable as the frustrated victim of a crazy and manipulated wife. The scenes in which he comes off as untrustworthy and indifferent towards his wife, such as the speech he gives to his neighbors at the awareness event, are well done and more dynamic than what we are used to seeing from Affleck. There are other moments, however, where he comes off as painfully forced and regresses to the point where we are reminded that it's Ben Affleck we are watching, rather than Nick Dunne. The scenes at the end of the film after Pike has returned and we are supposed to feel for Nick's uncomfortable and downright scary situation are not compelling at all. Part of this was a failure of the story to provide a practical ending, but Affleck's uninspiring performance should shoulder some of the blame.
His performance in Gone Girl was somewhere between MacRay and Mendez. At times Affleck seemed very believable as the frustrated victim of a crazy and manipulated wife. The scenes in which he comes off as untrustworthy and indifferent towards his wife, such as the speech he gives to his neighbors at the awareness event, are well done and more dynamic than what we are used to seeing from Affleck. There are other moments, however, where he comes off as painfully forced and regresses to the point where we are reminded that it's Ben Affleck we are watching, rather than Nick Dunne. The scenes at the end of the film after Pike has returned and we are supposed to feel for Nick's uncomfortable and downright scary situation are not compelling at all. Part of this was a failure of the story to provide a practical ending, but Affleck's uninspiring performance should shoulder some of the blame.
Rosamund Pike’s performance in this film was, mostly, phenomenal. She played the loving wife, the scared victim and the crazy
psychopath all so convincingly that it was difficult at times to tell which role
was real. The only downside to her performance was that for the first half she was in very little of the film and was limited to reading from the diary. This restriction on her character was a necessity for the author Gillian Flynn (personally I think it would have been better to have just told us from the beginning that she kidnapped herself and to show her more since there was only about 30 minutes in which there existed any real doubt for the audience as to Nick's innocence) but I still would have liked to have seen more of Pike. Keeping the disappointment I felt for the story's end aside, I thought Pike's performance was a roller coaster that sloped upward and built with the film's heightening plot until it abruptly careened down a hill as the film's plot reached its conclusion. As Pike's juggling act of playing the victim and the wife gave way to one insane psychopath it reduced the significance of her range and confined her to the limitations of the story's hopelessly implausible ending.
Neil Patrick Harris plays Desi: a millionaire and Pike’s
crazed former lover turned stalker. That's about all I can say of this rather limited and barely necessary appearance by Patrick-Harris. A waste of a decent actor to not have involved him more in the story and makes me wonder, having not read the book Gone Girl, if the film wouldn't have been better off had not been written by Flynn as well in order to allow a different writer to adapt the story to fit the talent within this film. Affleck is not strong enough to play the lead, Pike was brilliant but her screen-time was unwisely limited, and Patrick-Harris's role was so pointless it could have been played by a mailman.
Story
After Nick's wife Amy goes missing, his relationship with the police is created and immediately strained to indicate they are suspicious he might be involved, a
suspicion that is easily transferred to the audience. In fact from the police,
Pike’s diary, the news’ portrayal of Affleck, and Affleck’s own actions, this
audience is strongly made to believe that he is guilty, which quickly turns
this film into a “who done it.” That is, until writer Gillian Flynn breaks away
from this murder mystery cliché and convinces the audience of his innocence
(performing the same 180 in character perception that defense attorney Tanner
Bolt (Tyler Perry) says he and Affleck must pull off to convince the public of
his innocence.)
While normally I would applaud a writer and director for taking a risk and going against a cliche for the sake of innovation, I can't help feeling that this film might have been better had it stuck to the format of a conventional murder mystery. Once the plot evolved from a "who done it" to a clear establishment of Affleck's innocence, much of the tension that had been building in the audience's mind fizzled out. It seems that Flynn intended to replace the audience's suspense over whether or not he was guilty with concern for whether or not she would get away with her frame-up. This transition was poorly executed because it required the audience to suddenly build up feelings of sympathy for a character (Affleck) they had just spent half the movie learning to distrust. The failure to connect with or care about what happens to Affleck's character proved to be a major hindrance to the film's story.
While normally I would applaud a writer and director for taking a risk and going against a cliche for the sake of innovation, I can't help feeling that this film might have been better had it stuck to the format of a conventional murder mystery. Once the plot evolved from a "who done it" to a clear establishment of Affleck's innocence, much of the tension that had been building in the audience's mind fizzled out. It seems that Flynn intended to replace the audience's suspense over whether or not he was guilty with concern for whether or not she would get away with her frame-up. This transition was poorly executed because it required the audience to suddenly build up feelings of sympathy for a character (Affleck) they had just spent half the movie learning to distrust. The failure to connect with or care about what happens to Affleck's character proved to be a major hindrance to the film's story.
Another brief criticism I had of the movie was the unnecessary and
uncomfortable amount of sex. I am not against showing sex in film but I prefer
it to have a purpose, otherwise it becomes a cheap ploy to keep an audience
entertained. I understand that the scenes of their memory in which we saw
Affleck and Pike having sex was meant to show us how in love they once were but
there are other ways of achieving this end. The same is true of the scene with
Amy and Desi which seemed nothing more than a cheap excuse to see Rosamund Pike having sex.
The greatest criticism I have of this film was its ending. After watching Affleck accused of murder by his neighbor, denounced by his in-laws, interrogated by the police, and almost imprisoned all on the account of a woman he now realizes has a history of falsely accusing another man of raping her, the audience is somehow expected to believe that he not only doesn't turn her in but decides to stay with her?? This resolution is so ridiculously improbable and unsatisfying that it actually undermines what good this film had to offer. What had at least been an interesting story, despite some weaknesses, loses all credibility with this preposterous conclusion. Not having read the book on which this film is based, I am forced to assume that this ending is the product of Flynn as it in no way resembles the brilliance of Fight Club or Se7en.
The greatest criticism I have of this film was its ending. After watching Affleck accused of murder by his neighbor, denounced by his in-laws, interrogated by the police, and almost imprisoned all on the account of a woman he now realizes has a history of falsely accusing another man of raping her, the audience is somehow expected to believe that he not only doesn't turn her in but decides to stay with her?? This resolution is so ridiculously improbable and unsatisfying that it actually undermines what good this film had to offer. What had at least been an interesting story, despite some weaknesses, loses all credibility with this preposterous conclusion. Not having read the book on which this film is based, I am forced to assume that this ending is the product of Flynn as it in no way resembles the brilliance of Fight Club or Se7en.
Directing
On a positive note, Fincher’s decision to show passages from Amy’s diary to
convey her thoughts to the reader and then to transition to having her do
voice-overs was a unique and helpful addition to just flashbacks which are much
more typical of Hollywood. We see not just how their relationship developed but
are given a window into her mind. These clever insights into Amy's mind were a subtle and clever way of introducing the audience to her insane methods that effectively supplemented those actions actually presented on screen.
What marks the failure of this film's directing is not that it was poorly directed, but that it was nothing out of the ordinary. It lacked the signature twist ending audiences have come to expect from a Fincher film and the reason for this, like most of the film's drawbacks, lies with the film's story.
Conclusion:
Grade: Crap 49%
This film teeters on the edge of being good and had a lot of potential to be a solid film, but a terrible ending and limited storyline prevent it from realizing its potential. The directing was also rather ordinary which is a disappointment for a Fincher film and Affleck seemed to digress back to his former uninspiring acting performances. Rosmund Pike is the clear star of this film but even her performance is not enough to save it.
What marks the failure of this film's directing is not that it was poorly directed, but that it was nothing out of the ordinary. It lacked the signature twist ending audiences have come to expect from a Fincher film and the reason for this, like most of the film's drawbacks, lies with the film's story.
Conclusion:
Grade: Crap 49%
This film teeters on the edge of being good and had a lot of potential to be a solid film, but a terrible ending and limited storyline prevent it from realizing its potential. The directing was also rather ordinary which is a disappointment for a Fincher film and Affleck seemed to digress back to his former uninspiring acting performances. Rosmund Pike is the clear star of this film but even her performance is not enough to save it.
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