Gone Girl (2014)

User Review

• 

  Barneyonmovies

  9 / 10

  WHAT I LIKED: Gillian Flynn and David Fincher's 'Gone Girl,' is one of those films that stays with you for days, and - beyond its surprising twists and turns - the reason for that is the startling way that it deals with its prevalent social themes. Yes, above all else what this story is really about is domesticity and gender roles as we see a woman who feels trapped and underappreciated in her marriage attempting to bring down her husband and challenge the roles that society has placed them into in a very angry and almost unhinged manor that blasts the quiet domesticity of their original life into oblivion. That's something that's very interesting to watch as it often has you take a step back and consider those roles in reality and it's strangely liberating and exciting, and in fact the style and whit with which it's all delivered occasionally puts in mind 'American Beauty,' and that's one big compliment to pay. Now of course, in large part that is thanks to Flynn's script which is extremely snappy and constantly has things dipping between between the calm veneer of sanity and the blood-stained madness of insanity, but it's also thanks to Fincher's direction which helps balance those things expertly. Couple that with a plot that's has the central wife character make for some surprising and mysterious twists and the perfect ending, what you get is a film that's gripping, liberating, amusing and socially-relevant, and that's a lot of great things for one movie to achieve.
  WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE: The very nature of the story means that whilst you're forced to take a step back and understand the wife's anger and motives, it's very difticult to root for her methods as things start to develop.
  VERDICT: A very well-crafted social thriller with a punchy script and a great story, 'Gone Girl,' has some great things to say and a very striking way of saying them, and that's why it will likely stay with you for days on end.

  Like?

  0 member like this review.