Before we even begin, from the off this article has MAJOR SPOILERS for Gone Girl. If you haven't seen David Fincher's latest, bookmark this and come back later. Trust us, you'll want to read up on it. Gone Girl is one of those movies that, in the hands of a lesser director, could have ended up rather trashy. This is something of a hallmark of David Fincher, who has across an impressive twenty year directing career has turned cynical English language remakes of beloved foreign classics, true crime thrillers and male fantasy into something really special. The Social Network may have boasted an impressive script from Aaron Sorkin, but it was Fincher's direction and whip-fast delivery of the dialogue that really turned the story of Facebook's founders into a masterpiece. His latest, an adaptation of Gillian Flynn's novel, boasts a twist half-way through that could easily be viewed as exploitive if it didn't come after such a masterfully measured first hour. This mid-point reveal (seriously if you haven't seen it go now) is where many would have expected the film to reach its climax, leaving audiences with a movie totally different to what they sat down for (and all the better for it). Exploring the expectations of modern relationships to such a diabolical length, Gone Girl is probably the worst date movie of the year (again, a good thing). The ending has left a few audience members feeling a little let down; having the film's big pay-off coming much earlier in the story leaves the last fifteen minutes or so to tie everything up in the most compromising (for the characters) way possible. While narratively the ending is rather slight, it pays off many of the film's central themes and poses some rather interesting questions. Today we're going to dive into these, looking at what Fincher's saying with his movie and resolving some of the niggling queries people may have.
