Gone Girl

By: Robert Murphy

Often times I will look on in ridicule of those Real Housewives TV shows and think about how someone can be so spoiled and self righteous but after watching Gone Girl, I learned what a truly self righteous woman is like. Nick Dunne (Ben Affleck) plays the suburban husband and upon watching the first scene I was thinking that things were going to start out sweet until I heard his voice dictate his intent to smash open her head to reveal the secrets behind his wife, Amy Dunne (Rosamund Pike), soft hearted smile. This notion sets the tone for a movie that I knew was meant to be a little of quilter but I had no idea what I was in for once things started to develop. Nick soon learns that a happy wife is not one that is obtained with a nice home and nice things and if you get lazy in your marriage, you're going to pay the price for it. 

As it is with most any love story things start off fairly gooshy and romantic for this couple, the two share experiences that would make anyone want to puke sunshine and rainbows at how sickeningly good together Nick and Amy are and the two knew this. They both enjoyed being the best couple that they knew, they challenged one another, loved one another and it's actually quite a nice story. We jump to present day and the couple are living in Nick's childhood town after his mother had gotten sick and they moved from New York to try and help her get well. Things are no longer sizzling though between the two and after five years of being together divorce seemed to be coming right around the corner, that is until the morning of their fifth anniversary Amy goes missing. The only thing we are left with are the standard anniversary clues that she leaves for Nick to lead him to his anniversary gift and her narration of her and Nick's life together in her diary entries. As things develop and more and more unravels, Nick begins to look like the fall guy for his wife's murder and his actions during the search for her certainly aren't helping his case. When we start having the truth come out, everything gets much worse for Nick and it's hard to see how he will ever find the truth if he ends up locked away for his wife's murder. 

In any relationship I'm sure that either side would love to know what the other was thinking about the other, it is hard to trust someone and Gone Girl won't make your trust issues any easier when you learn what Amy has done to her husband. The odds from the get go are placed in Nick's favor though because the story follows him getting the clues to Amy's scavenger hunt which turn out to reveal a lot more than a gift for her supposedly loving husband. Even though things haven't gone down a nice path for the two, he is still a good guy but he is left hanging with all the evidence piling against him. What his wife forgets though is that he use to be just as committed to their little game of being better than everyone else at a relationship and that's when the table begins to turn on Amy's story. 

The second half of the movie reveals that in fact Nick is the sap of this story and is stuck in a scheme so meticulously thought out that not even Johnnie Cochran could get him out of it, luckily he does have a killer lawyer, Tanner Bolt (Tyler Perry), to help out. Amy gets to tell the adventure she's been on since her disappearance and how she is throwing everything to the wind especially her figure as she mows down on Kit Kats, donuts and all manner of goodies. This also reveals all the hard work and preparation that went into her disappearance, so much so that it literally scared the crap out of me and I had to take a minute to contemplate all she has done. Things don't stay all peachy for her though as she runs into some back woods trouble as she hides out and has to fall back on an old wealthy fling by the name of Desi (Neil Patrick Harris). It almost enough to make you laugh when you see how things turn out for her and by the end I almost did laugh when things change pacing from tragedy to insanity. 

Gone Girl does exactly what it sets out to do and that's make an almost detective like movie for the viewer to watch and solve. I don't think it will make you re-examine your own marriages or relationships in any way because even though there are some extremely crazy people out there, not everyone is in a relationship quite like this one. I really enjoyed all aspects of the movie personally especially when the narrative for Amy finally reflects her true feelings. She finally gives up or is free in a manner of speaking after faking her death and she recounts everything she doesn't have to do for Nick anymore like stay a size 2 and no more blowjobs, she doesn't have to be that person anymore. Nick's narrative I also enjoyed once he realizes to give up on the fact that he's been a good husband in recent years and refers to himself as an asshole. Once he starts to play Amy's game too things get more exciting in the story and had me right till the end. Gone Girl does hit the solid points of an American failing marriage and I think people will see that, everything else though may be up for your own interpretation.

Good:

- A great mystery slash suspense story

- Affleck and Pike preform both their roles beautifully

- Pike's ill gotten adventures after her disappearance 

Bad:

- The ending may not sit well with people

Scully Rating: 8.8 out of 10