Gone Girl - Excellent by SHINYGOODGUY

CINEMA

Gone Girl - Excellent

POSTED BY: SHINYGOODGUY
UPDATED: Wednesday, November 12, 2014 19:22
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VIEWED: 3421
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Sunday, October 5, 2014 8:28 AM

Some SPOILERS!!!!!

You're going to hear a lot of Oscar buzz behind this movie Gone Girl, and rightfully so.

Rosamund Pike gives a virtuoso performance as the title character as she oozes sexuality, confidence, vulnerability and.............well, if I say anymore I will spoil it for you. Trust me on this one, this young actress gets your attention in a big way. Don't get me wrong, it's not over-the-top in any way. It's just strong solid and totally mesmerizing, she carries the film on her sweet shoulders. If she were a long distance runner, she could jog backwards and still win the race handily. That's how good she is. Her fellow actors are playing catch-up as she chews up the entire landscape, and by film's end has you in the palm of her hand begging for more.

Fincher, as I have seen over the years, gets the best out of his actors. To hear NPH tell it, he doesn't let you use any tricks of the trade to get a reaction out of the audience, but instead challenges to dig deep into the well of emotions within. With such critical hits as Fight Club, Panic Room, Zodiac, Seven and The Social Network (one of my favorites), this is evident and very present, but in an uncompromising and unobtrusive way. The story masterfully unfolds as past and present are interwoven to reveal the puzzle pieces of the mysterious disappearance of one Amy Elliot Dunne (Pike) who's married to Nick Dunne (Affleck, who gives a solid performance, but it's virtually unnoticed because Pike is so good), one a successful writer, the other not so much.

Fincher peels away layer upon layer of seemingly marital bliss, and within those layers we come to know the motives and secrets of the different characters. He makes us think and suspect with each clue, literally, as the audience, along with the characters, matches them to the characters and their motivations. There are some twists and turns, some you will see as obvious and others come out of left field, but you will not be bored..........not for a second. He even manages to sprinkle humor throughout the film, but it's never trite and never detracts from the pace and mood of the overall plot.

You would think that with a running time of 2 hours 25 minutes that it would feel overly long, but nothing could be further from the truth. It is both murder mystery and psychological thriller that, at the end, leaves you wanting more. I believe that author and first-time screenwriter Gillian Flynn will receive an Oscar nod for her near flawless script. I also believe that Fincher will get an Oscar nod for his direction (and rightfully so). He may finally win.

I have so much more to say about this solid piece of old Hollywood thriller, but I'm exhausted, mentally and physically, from how intricate and nuanced the storytelling was in this film. There were teasers, red herrings and juicy bits of character development that keeps you wonderfully involved. It gives me hope that maybe we'll get back to the days of truly dedicated and solid filmmaking. I love superhero movies, they do have a place in the pantheon of film lore, but I cherish a good mystery and inspired storytelling. Gone Girl gives you everything you could ever want in the style of the Golden Era of Hollywood. A psychological thriller that rewards the moviegoer beyond measure with nuanced gems and gifts, which Fincher liberally and lovingly adds to the film and makes it worthy of Oscar buzz.

SGG

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Sunday, October 5, 2014 11:24 AM

WHOZIT

I haven't seen it yet, but the critics are drooling all over this flick. I haven't heard or read a negative review yet, one critic I heard on the radio said you may want to see it 2 or 3 times. I may check it out...and I hate Ben Affleck.

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Monday, October 6, 2014 3:08 AM

SHINYGOODGUY

If you want to read a negative review, Lou Lumenick of the NY Post gave it 2 Stars and generally poo-poo'd it. He made some valid points, but, for the most part, I did not agree with his final analysis. My take is to give it 3 to 3.5 Stars, for the performances, screenwriting and direction.

Mind you, there are some minor flaws, but overall it is a fantastic film. Oscars here we come (just so you know, I'm not a Ben Affleck fan, but even he was good).

SGG

Quote:
Originally posted by WHOZIT:
I haven't seen it yet, but the critics are drooling all over this flick. I haven't heard our read a negative review yet, one critic I heard on the radio said you may want to see it 2 or 3 times. I may check it out...and I hate Ben Affleck.

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Monday, October 6, 2014 3:47 PM

STORYMARK

I have not yet seen it - but anything from Fincher is worth a watch. Even the films of his I don't like are exceptionally well shot, and at the very least, interesting.

“Anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that 'my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge.'”? Isaac Asimov

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Monday, October 6, 2014 5:37 PM

JEWELSTAITEFAN

Is this, like, pre-Batman?

I've always enjoyed Pike. I think most recent was Jack Reacher. For this, she took the part Producer Reese Witherspoon had wanted for herself.

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Wednesday, November 12, 2014 7:22 PM

JEWELSTAITEFAN

After suffering through 2 1/2 hours of Baffleck, I'm glad to have already decided against watching the Boston Batman. I'll stick with the Brit Batman.

I wonder which scenes done by Rosamund were not within Reese's wheelhouse, the parts Fincher used to convince Reese not to fill the role she desired.

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