Thank you! + 'Gone Girl' review
First of all let me say a big thank you to sanya4 , grendel_mother , elysium_22 , setentpet for the lovely birthday messages and also florencia_7 for the adorable cupcake v-gift!
Thank you so much for your lovely wishes ladies! I had a good birthday. Lots of cake and with some of my favorite friends and family members :)
I had a chance to watch one my most anticipated films of 2014 'Gone Girl' based on the book by Gillian Flynn and starring Rosamund Pike and Ben Affleck. Here's my review and let me know if you read the book , saw the movie or anything related :)
Okay so I finally watched 'Gone Girl'. The movie still officially hasn’t come out here where I live but I’ve waited so long for this adaptation that I decided to give the torrent a try. The quality wasn’t horrible but yep I’m hoping for a comfortable second viewing in the cinema at the end of the month ;)
Anyway I was intrigued by the story when the first trailer came out and since I couldn’t wait to find out the ending I decided to read the book. The book was a fantastic read! Very interesting , terrifying, lots of twists and turns and completely entertaining. This obviously led to me to have super high expectations from the film and Fincher. Were they met? Yes I think the movie did a pretty fine job of bringing the book to life. It’s a great film but a good adaptation. The book will remain my favorite but I must congratulate Fincher and the cast for meeting most of my expectations.
From a technical stand-point the film is fantastic. Lots of gorgeous cinematography. I loved the overall bleakness and atmosphere they managed to create. The music was alright. It was good in some places and not so good in others. The ‘missing’ piece is definitely a stand-out though. I’m a little divided on the script. Now since it’s written by the author I can’t really complain. Most of the major elements were covered but what do you think it would’ve been like if it had been scripted by a professional screenwriter? Would it have been better or worse?
The cast was great and amazing Rosamund as amazing Amy was definitely the highlight of the film! Ben Affleck wasn’t great but he did fit the character. I still feel like NPH as Desi was miscast but I can live with that. The actress who played Margo was fantastic! She really made the character feel real. The rest of the supporting cast was good too.
I’m probably nit-picking but if you haven’t read the book you might enjoy this film alot more because it is a very well made one. So go and see it if you’re interested in a good and solid psychological thriller :) I would still recommend trying the book because it has all of these great monologues and really adds to the characters of Nick and Amy. It makes them even more interesting and helps understand their motives at different points in the story much better.
More thoughts ahead but those contain spoilers:
MOVIE/BOOK SPOILERS AHEAD
The Nick/Amy in the beginning felt a bit rushed and I wish they had thrown in just a few more moments showing the breakdown of their marriage. Ben/Rosamund didn’t have much chemistry onscreen but I guess it worked because we aren’t really supposed to like them anyway.
Ah so let’s talk about Rosamund! From the moment I saw her in the trailer I couldn’t imagine anyone else as Amy Dunne. She was so fresh. I’m glad they went with her for this instead of a predictable Reese Witherspoon or Nicole Kidman. Her age didn’t make a difference. As stunning as her performance was she was still a little rough around the edges maybe? I don’t know if it was the screenplay or the acting to be sure. Should she have been more of a ‘sweeter’ Amy in the first half? Was the film concentrating too much on pyscho Amy that they kind of ignored ‘sweet’ Amy? I’m a little divided on this. On the one hand more sweetness would’ve made it more believable BUT she was playing the ‘cool girl’ and she was perfect in that area. Her sophistication, charm and poise really come through in just those few scenes she has to convince us she’s ‘Amazing Amy’. Yes we could have had a Cate Blanchett come in and be perfect in every scene but I really loved how different a semi-unknown and underrated Rosamund Pike made this film feel so refreshing. She was brilliant as pyscho Amy! I cannot imagine anyone else! Cold , calculating but calm and terrifying! She was just perfect! One of my personal favorite moments is where we see her with the short bob cut . When reading the book for some reason I pictured Amy with a short haircut and when she showed up like that I had to gasp because the Amy from my copy of the book was really brought to life in those moments. *squee* Amy is definitely one of my favorite female characters/villains and I’m grateful Rosamund did her justice. As great as she was I’m not sure about her oscar chances but I do hope she gets nominated atleast because she is easily the best thing about it.
Ben Affleck was alright. I’m not a huge fan of him as an actor per say and I didn’t really care much for him in this either but I must say he fit the character very well. You really get that douchey-distant Nick Dunne vibe from him and watching his breakdown was alot of fun. I remember reading people wanted Bradley Cooper which I think would have also been a fine choice for the role but Ben is able to come across as so so unlikeable he made it work.
I’m still not so thrilled about NPH as Desi. Overall Desi just wasn’t given enough to do in the film and NPH wasn’t convincing. Wish he had been creepier maybe? But anyway as I said, I can live with this.
Margo was one of my favorites! The actress was terrific! She really made the character human. I liked her alot. The rest of the supporting cast was good too especially Tyler Perry as the lawyer.
I think my favorite scene was the one where we find out Amy is still alive. I thought the very important ‘cool girl’ speech got a bit lost in the montage but I’m glad they didn’t cut it atleast!
Nick’s tv interview was another good scene.
The violent scene between Desi and Amy was terrifying omg. Reading it was one thing but they way the depicted it in the film was like whoa! 0__0
And last but not the least. The most important thing about this entire film was the ending! There were rumors that they were going to change it BUT THEY DIDN’T! BLESS! They kept it in. The tv interview and that final shot of Amy’s face were chilling! Still would recommend picking up the book for a better understanding of the characters and for the details that
were left unexplained. Details about how Amy got pregnant in the end, why she came back to Nick , why did Nick take her back etc are made more clear in the book. The film makes it seem very one dimensional in the end especially Nick’s side of the story. Yes he loathes Amy in the end but the disturbing fact is that he chooses to stay not just because of the baby but because subconsciously she has complete control over him now. He’s a broken man. He’s been brainwashed. He’s terrified but he is also strangely comfortable with the arrangement. This psychology of the entire situation in the end is what leaves one uncomfortable even after the story has ended.
So bottom-line is I’m very satisfied with the film. Definitely worth the wait! I had faith in Fincher. He can never go terribly wrong and he didn’t! I hope this movie gets lots of hype during awards season. Also I can’t wait for a proper second viewing. Looking forward to that!
Talk to me about the film :)