Synopsis: A man's wife disappears in suspicious circumstances and he becomes the prime suspect.
Stan's thoughts: I really enjoyed Gone Girl up to a point but I can't quite gush about it like a lot of people (I have found one other so far who shares my opinion). In order to explain why I can't gush I am going to have to give plot spoilers so don't read on if you don't want to know.
I haven't read the book is probably the first thing I should say so I went into the film without any inkling where it was going and was initially gripped by the story. Then there was a loose thread in an otherwise tightly woven plot but once I'd started to pull at it, it made an unsatisfactory hole.
The point was when Amy Dunne (Rosamund Pike) was in hospital and being questioned by the FBI. Suddenly the fact that the crime scene at her home had been proven to be staged was quickly forgotten. Neither did the FBI question how she could slash her attackers throat while tied up.
It then got me thinking about the initial investigation and questioning: why weren't her previous boyfriends investigated - firstly when they were looking for potential kidnappers and then if they had they might have noticed a bit of a pattern?
When the police were suspicious about Nick her husband (Ben Affleck) not knowing much about Amy why weren't the equally suspicious about her and what she might be up to - a bored housewife? If she wrote her diary over a much shorter period of time, surely there are forensic tests that would have shown that? OK that last one might be a bit extreme but surely they'd want to explore every avenue.
Then they did something really silly, something that was ridiculous even for Hollywood: Amy left hospital still covered in blood and in her hospital gown. I'm sorry, she just wouldn't be allowed to leave hospital in that state, her friends and family wouldn't let her leave hospital in that state.
If a story is gripping enough you might not notice the plot holes and flaws, if a story is gripping enough, sometimes it doesn't matter if you spot them but in this instance I couldn't detach myself from them once I had. So no I can't gush about Gone Girl. It started with so much promise and felt skillful but its final act just falls over and the more I think about it the more irritated I get by it.
Ratings
- Stan’s 59%
- IMDB 86%
- Metascore 79%
- Rotten Tomatoes 87%
- RT Audience Rating* 91%
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* Based on number of people who rated the film 3.5/5 and higher
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