Watched David Finchers GONE GIRL last night. This is one of those I really need to read the book before I comment too much. Fincher said in an interview with Amy Taubin that he primarily focused on the 30% of the novel that dealt with the narcissitic ways we represent ourselves to those we love. This leads me to wonder what other topics Gillian Flynn deals with in her bestselling novel. Glimpsing at reviews it suggests that Flynn is equally concerned with issues related to the collapse of the economic system in 2008. This makes sense since Flynn is best known (to me at least) as one of the writers who lost her job when ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY downsized. Fincher as always is technically ambitious and formally peerless. There is no other major living American director that has more command of narrative filmmaking than Fincher. The problem, for me, is he tends to be attracted to narratives that I am not that interested in. This was certainly my problem with ZODIAC. Im interested in GONE GIRL but to my mind the film ultimately is profoundly misogynist in ways that it sounds like the novel was not. For me the film is stacked in favor of Nick (Ben Affleck) and against Amy (Rosamund Pike) in ways that simply arent that interesting. Part of this is due to the casting of Affleck. A narrative about a man trapped by shallow media constructions is just so richly resonant with Afflecks own Beniffer history to not engage audience sympathy. Directors are finally learning how to use Affleck correctly (HOLLYWOODLAND, Malicks TO THE WONDER, THE COMPANY MEN have all made great use of Affleck). Affleck is an off putting presence and his ability to elicit sympathy from an audience is challenged. His good looks are so generically Entitled White Guy that it is extremely hard to not want to see his characters punished. His amazing body reads as the class entitlement of someone that can spend hours at the gym and not simply the product of working hard and having good genes. All this combines to suggest an edge of narcissism that has proven a liability when Affleck has been cast in traditional leading man roles (ie. John Woos PAYCHECK) and laughable when he has been cast as working class tough guys (ie. John Frankenheimers REINDEER GAMES). Fincher knows exactly what to do with Affleck and his persona and it works wonders for the audiences engagement with the film. However, his presence overwhelms Pikes. She is good here but she cant compete with the way Afflecks baggage adds depth and pathos to his role. She also has less screen time- since much of her narration is voice over accompanied by shots of her writing in her diary. The supporting cast is wonderful- with the notable exception of Tyler Perry as Nicks attorney- this was probably an interesting stunt casting idea but it doesnt work at all in terms of the narrative. However, Kim Dickens, David Clennon, Lisa Baynes, a very creepy Neil Patrick Harris, and especially a terrific performance by Carrie Coon as Nicks long suffering sister Margo all add texture and depth to the film. Of course it is the cinematography of Finchers great collaborator Jeff Cronenweth, the outstanding and meticulous production design, and the film and sound editing that raise every Fincher production way above the average Hollywood film. This guy can direct like nobodys business and has a full command of every technical aspect of filmmaking. I wish his narrative interests were as progressive as his technical skill is.
Posted on: Mon, 10 Nov 2014 14:23:20 +0000
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