HUB Movie Review: Gone Girl
Gone Girl, the one movie, or simply its trailer, that will have you question and reconsider this whole “marriage” thing.
Based on the best-selling novel by Gillian Flynn, Gone Girl chronicles the life of Nick and Amy Dunne, from the start of their relationship to the end, and their happy, not-so-good in-betweens.
It opens on the dreadful morning.
Nick (Ben Affleck, Argo, Good Will Hunting) comes home and finds his wife (Rosamund Pike, The World’s End, Pride & Prejudice) gone and a disheveled living room on their five-year anniversary. From the get-go, Nick helps the police the best he can and asks for help from his local community. But within just a few days of the disappearance, fingers began pointing towards Nick for the murder of “Amazing” Amy.
The movie is interlaid with events and flashbacks that make you think that he either did or didn’t do it. But the echoing sounds of Amy’s, “this man may truly kill me” sends chills as you give Nick the stink eye, and he smiles for the cameras. So what do you believe?
Gone Girl continues to receive rave reviews from top critics and viewers, especially those who were fans of the book. Audiences at IMDb rated it at 8.3 (which is a great score), RottenTomatoes’ top critics gave it 81, while 89-percent of its audiences liked it, thus it was most definitely certified fresh. Meanwhile Metacritic handed it a very kind 79, so Gone Girl is a HIT!
Pike was nominated for this year’s Golden Globes for Best Lead Actress-Drama, and may most likely be nominated for an Oscar as well (which will be announced today!). The movie also got Globe nominations for Best Director, Best Original Score and Best Screenplay. Though it didn’t win anything, the nominations speak for themselves.
On the Penn State Scale...
1—when Penn State loses a game (Ohio State...),
2—an 8 a.m class (which are awful),
3—a canceled 8 a.m class,
4—free books for a year,
and 5—free Creamery for a year,
Gone Girl is, for the most part, a 5 but then it falls short on certain ends, bringing it down to a 4.5.
Gone Girl is a crime thriller that adds on marriage problems and shatters the idea of a perfect marriage, all the while revealing that nothing is ever what it seems, and exemplifies just how horrible the news/media can be when they run with the facts and make them fit with the story everyone wants to hear (again I call out my own profession, because there’s nothing more fun than that). It may also exemplify that a lawyer is your best friend.
I found that the story is brilliantly done and all of the emotions and madness are portrayed so well by the actors, as well as by the setting and music. The movie has you on constant edge because, as with all crime stories, you try to figure out who did it and how from the very beginning. But as more and more is revealed concerning the relationship of the Dunne’s, you will question your choice. Believe me, I did the same…
I saw the first part of this movie before I went to bed one night, and it kept me from falling asleep because the story had just probed so deep into my mind. I questioned myself: was it Nick? Wasn’t it? Where’s Amy? Why does he smile in pictures? But lucky you, my fellow viewers! You will watch this in one sitting and you won’t have this problem! Seriously, consider yourself lucky.
Now, without giving any spoilers, you will realize that by the end, this whole thing is so insane and crazy, you will crinkle your nose in disgust, and you will wonder about some people in this world. Aaannnddd, what made the author, Mr. Flynn, come up with this. Like wow.
But to the thing that brought down its rating: the ending. Part of it is just that I didn’t like the finale, but also because I wanted more. The ending felt too swift; I wanted to find out more where this story would go after the major climax. I also got a sense of disappointment in the law-enforcement. But, oh well.
There you have it! Hope you thrill about the first HUB movie of the New Year. Let me know what you think in the comments!
Final words: Let the intricacy blow your mind.
Sofia Westin is a sophomore majoring in broadcast journalism and economics. To contact her, email sgw5090@psu.edu.
