One of the most anticipated movies of the year finally hit the big screen after way too much anticipation and speculation. I remember reading this book and rocking in the corner for most of it, because it was such a lot of mind fuck going on. I went on a rant for the first half and the second half I was like WTF?!! And the end was like REALLY?!!
The movie was always going to be a big deal, when I heard Reese Witherspoon optioned it I wasn’t sure what to expect, you know being Reese and all. Rosamound Pike’s casting as Amy Dunne gave me even more cause for anxiety more so than Ben Affleck as Nick Dunne. The role is unlike anything Pike has done before, and we are used to her being so soft spoken and and mild on screen. Alas! These two make a perfect twisted pair because it was so unexpected. Affleck should be cast in more douchey roles. But Pike was the surprise here, after watching this movie its hard not to wonder if she does have a bit of crazy going on, behind that pretty blonde façade. She was perfectly cold, perfectly crazy, perfectly deranged, perfectly evil. There couldn’t have been anyone to play this role than Pike, because she brought the character to life and then some.
It opens at the end, and takes us back to the beginning before working us through the story and back to where we started. The scenes in Amy’s diary, as is in the book, tells us her point of view of how her marriage got here, how it all began with herself and Nick. They both lived a charmed like in New York before the recession hit, and they lost their jobs. Eventually they moved to Missouri to be with Nick’s mother who was ill, and that is where Cool Amy turned ice cold, when she realised that the man she married was not really who she thought he was. That cool girl speech is delivered so perfect by Pike, in tone, in attitude, in bite; my heart leapt with joy. In places where confusion could have set in, going back and forth, past to present, Amy to Nick, Fincher stirs it so the audience is not lost, even if you are a stranger to the story.
The beef, for the most part in this movie, lies with the cast, but in particular Pike, she is contrary; where Amy’s diary says one thing, her person does another, and she sets the course of the mind fuckery so well it leaves us with our mouths hanging ajar. Her language is crude, her actions vulgar, but she leaves nothing to chance as Amy. Her transformation from “Amazing Amy” into trailer trash Nancy, is all the more stupendous, and I almost prefer her to book Amy. Almost.
In most cases the books are normally better than the movie but I’d have to put this movie on par with the book for the simple fact that we didn’t have to wait for the end with some unnecessary filler scenes, every scene, every flash back, every diary entry was a crescendo of suspense. The casting was right on point, and because of that, the story was an easier sell than expected. Tyler Perry as the big shot lawyer and Neil Patrick Harris as the crazy ex-lover, Desi, add more dimension to the story, even as small part characters, their story lines are intriguing. Even the camp site crazies. The book was a tad too long in getting on, but the movie cut to the chase without short changing the narrative.
Definitely one of the better adaptations, and a must watch.
Gone Girl, in Cinemas Now…