Gone Girl (2014)

☆ ☆ ☆ ½

Gone Girl (2014) – D. Fincher

David Fincher’s film left a bad taste in my mouth (I haven’t read the book nor paid attention to any of the controversy around it).  Ben Affleck may be responsible for the disappearance of his wife (Rosamund Pike).  He arrives home to find the door open, some furniture over-turned, and her gone.  Of course, Affleck becomes the number one suspect (because, really, he is that type of guy).  However, if we are encouraged to consider Affleck’s perspective, even in the face of possible domestic violence, are we also asked to blame the victim? Fincher seems to indulge in the same kind of shenanigans that Mamet once toyed with (in Oleanna; and perhaps Hitchcock too), getting us to identify with the probable or stereotypical guilty party. So, is it a misogynistic film, if it explores the victim’s deservingness even as it raises awareness about family violence?  There is no easy answer but still I say yes.  Aside from any potential value still remaining for film to tell us how bad the media’s three ring circus has become, the film serves only to reinforce some people’s negative beliefs about some women   But then again it is only a film and quite gripping for most of its tawdry length.