Rating of
3.5/4
"Gone Girl" by Yojimbo
Yojimbo - wrote on 12/28/14
A husband arrives home one day to find his wife gone and signs of foul play, but when the evidence starts to point towards him he is ostracised by his community. David Fincher's latest is a dark and intelligent whodunnit with similarities to its star's own excellent directorial debut Gone Baby Gone as well as its contemporary Nightcrawler. The film's theme is essentially the nature of "trial by media" and its ramifications for those involved in the case and the way that sensationalist news programmes can be so prejudicial in reporting the so-called "facts". It also examines the way in which the image we present to the outside world can be very different to not only our own real lives, but also to how we perceive ourselves. It's not as high minded and navel-gazing as that may sound as the themes are wrapped within a mind-bending thriller formula that is reminiscent of a more credible version of The Game, mainly thanks to the clever fleshing out of a big "reveal" that could've been unsatisfyingly cheesy if the story had ended at that point without further exploration. A smart, dark and stylish post modern thriller with a few genuine surprises.
