Steel Notes Magazine
July & August 2016
Jerry Saravia
Gone Girl Film Review
Affleck is still chasing Amy
It is tempting to dismiss “Gone Girl” after its opening scenes of a somewhat haggard Ben
Affleck driving to a local bar called “The Bar” with a coffee drink in his hand, talking to a
female bartender who begins with the typical “Look who finally graced us with their presence”
statement. I was almost ready to give up since the scene reminded me of those Edward Burns and
other indie rom-coms of the 90’s, heck Affleck was in some of those. But as the scene unfolds,
we learn the bartender is actually Affleck’s sister and Affleck’s character actually co-owns The
Bar. Then he arrives home to find his wife is missing and one of the living room tables has been
smashed. Director David Fincher immediately fashions a cool sense of suspense and menace,
almost a creepy vibe washed with placid, dull colors. Affleck looks dull, his sister looks dull, and
everything looks plain and rather bland. Naturally, that is the point. If everything looked as
pristinely beautiful with a Technicolor tint as in the opening scenes of David Lynch’s suburban
nightmare “Blue Velvet,” the creepy vibe would not be as strong for this intense story. People
can go nuts in perfectly balanced bland suburban towns.
Based on a best-selling novel by Gillian Flynn who also wrote the intricate screenplay, Ben
Affleck is the disaffected Nick Dunne who discovers that something besides his Best Director
Oscar is missing (sorry, it had to be said). All hell breaks loose and the media has a field day
with his wife’s disappearance. Naturally, Nick is seen as a murderer, the husband who did away
with his wife, Amy (Rosamund Pike), the inspiration for her parents’ books called “Amazing
Amy.” Nick makes every mistake imaginable – he smiles for the cameras, shows no real remorse
or emotion especially when supposedly feigning concern at a candlelight vigil in honor of Amy,
and still carries on an affair with a younger woman. This whole section of the film, including
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