Gone Girl

Gone Girl

Nick loved the girl I pretended to be: the “hot chick.”
Men always say that, right? The ultimate compliment. “…she’s a hot chick!” The “hot chick” is sexy, the “hot chick” is fun, the “hot chick” never gets mad at her man; she just smiles, regretful and loving, and then offers him her mouth for pleasure.
She likes what he likes, and so of course he’s a fan of vinyl records and sadomasochistic manga.

But if he wants, she’ll be a bimbo who talks about football and eats chicken wings at fast food.

When I met Nick Dunn, I realized he wanted a “hot chick,” and for him, I admit, I was willing to try.

I got a full Brazilian wax, drank canned beer while watching Adam Sandler movies, ate cold pizza while staying a size 38, and gave him oral sex more or less regularly.

I can’t say I didn’t have fun; Nick brought out things I didn’t know I had: lightness, humor, zest.

But I made him smarter, sharper; I encouraged him to rise to my level. I shaped the man of my dreams.

The Beginning of the End

From this monologue by the protagonist begins her descent into a revenge plan against the husband who used her and then betrayed her.

This is the perspective of the character played by Rosamund Pike, our Gone Girl.

 

She feels used, for his money, for his status, for his body.
When, tired of her husband’s total absence, she begins to stomp her feet, he pushes her aside, seeking freshness and carefree nature in a younger, less “difficult to manage” woman.

Strong, intelligent women are always incredibly attractive, but they are difficult to handle.

At that point, she devises a plan, a perfect plan.

She wants to end her life, but she doesn’t want the act to be self-serving.

The blame must absolutely fall on him, the man she loved so much and for whom she sacrificed everything, who allowed himself to put her in a corner like an out-of-fashion shoe.

The construction of the plan is practically perfect.

She even exploits situations familiar to the couple, like a treasure hunt.

But this time, there are no prizes and affection.
This time, there are clues, clues that convince the police to believe she is dead and that he is the monster.

 

The film is built entirely on Pike’s performance, supported by an Affleck who is not always in character but nonetheless fits into the staging.

The only part that perhaps didn’t fully convince me is the ending.

What do you think?

Gone Girl, the girl who has gone away.
Yes, but in what sense?
Physically gone or “gone” mentally?

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