Weekend Movie Night: Gone Girl

Gone Girl movie poster. 20th Century Fox.

I don't usually post movie reviews for movies that don't have much to do with politics or warfare, but since culture is also a part of this blog, I think I can talk about Gone Girl. It is a fairly significant film culturally and I knew when I finished watching it I had to write something about it.

SPOILERS BELOW! Gone Girl is a very shocking movie that is better if you don't know what is coming.

I loved this movie. The plot was horrifying, the music was dark and oppressive and it made some points about society that desperately needed to be made. The entire movie is a scathing criticism of the current media and also skewers some pretty dangerous myths about women as well. 

First, the fact that Ben Affleck's Nick Dunne was crucified in the media is just so very relevant. There was even a Nancy Grace expy and she did all the things that Nancy Grace loves to do, including spinning media narratives to make someone who has not been convicted of any crime look completely guilty. The movie really played up the media circus angle and it just goes to show how horrible it can be for someone caught up in one. I could give examples, but what is the point? There will be 5 new ones before the month is out. It really helps to have another recent film, along with the Danish film, The Hunt, to show how terrible it is to be falsely accused of a terrible crime

Also, Amy was one of the most terrifying female villains I have seen in a long time. She didn't commit her crimes through violence (for the most part) but through deceit and trickery. She was also human, with strong, though utterly evil, motivations for doing what she did. Amy's spite and anger flow through the movie and the lengths she was willing to go to get what she wanted are shocking. Her plan fell apart though, showing that even though she was smart and diabolical, she was still flawed with weaknesses of her own.

It's important to note how rare a good female villain is. Most of the time female villains end up switching sides or are at least played more sympathetic then Amy was. Not only did she try to frame her husband for murder in a death penalty state, she falsely accused her ex-boyfriend of rape. She also killed an admittedly creepy stalker ex, played expertly by Neil Patrick Harris, and framed him for rape, kidnapping and torture as well. In short, Amy is not a nice person and has no real redeeming qualities other then her utter tenacity. I can't remember the last time I have seen a female villain played that way. 

Some people liked her for her "cool girl" speech and other criticized her for being unrealistic. I think she's plenty realistic. I don't think there are many people, male or female, that could pull off a frame-job that spectacularly, but there are plenty that would want to. Many of those people are women. I've always said that men and women are basically equal in one very basic way. The capacity to commit evil. That evil usually manifests in different ways but it is important to note that women are just as capable of being absolutely terrible as men are. They aren't perfect little angels capable of doing no wrong. Women are just as capable of being evil, and there is no shortage of evil women in the world. That is the entire point of the film and it is a message that I think it delivers.