Gone Girl

These thoughts came to me around 3.30 this morning. I am not sure why and how, but I had the urge to write about them instantly. But I didn't because sleepiness took over and I thought that maybe if I don't remember it when I wake up, it's probably not worth blabbing about.

But I still remembered.

I am talking about my feelings for Gone Girl, not the book, but the movie directed by one of my favourite directors, David Fincher. It stars Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike as the doomed Dunne couple. If you have read the book, you would say that it's better than the film. I have heard this several times, but cannot really attest, as I have not finished it and went straight to see the movie version. So I will not touch how the film seemed to hurried everything and packed most of the story in two hours (or depending on which version you have seen).

Initially, the movie got cancelled for release in Malaysia, due to its graphic and sexual contents. According to Twentieth Century Fox, the film's distributor, in a response to a question posted in their Facebook account, Gone Girl was "taken out of the release plan here (Malaysia) due to the excessive censor cuts required, which significantly affect the movie experience." It came as a big surprise however on the last week of November, when they announced that they are finally showing an 'International Cut' meaning there was a 'way around' showing the significant moments in the film without (too much) cuts as one would have expected. Still, a supposed better version came out online on Friday, before the movie hit local cinemas.

Although I initially wanted to watch the movie on the big screen, it was a good thing I did because I was terribly disappointed. Fincher and I have gone a long way. From the Fight Club to Se7en (so awesome!), my favourite, Social Network and also Girl with Dragon Tattoo, which were both adapted from books. I had high expectations for Gone Girl. Firstly, because it had an all-star cast, 2/3 of my dream team (Fincher with Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross), and everyone was buzzing about the movie. I even threw a small fit when they did not show it in Malaysia at first because I have waited for it.

But I guess despite the good reviews and high ratings, the film still felt lacking. In the beginning, it was long and dragging and it reached its high point when they finally showed Amy (Rosamund Pike was so good, I think she was the saving grace of the movie), then towards the end, it felt flat. Ben Affleck did not at all move me, even during the confessional part. I did not feel any sympathy when he lost his wife, or mad when we learned he cheated. The character was a little undeveloped. Affleck is not a bad actor - he got me on the edge of my seat when I watched Argo, but he did not shine in the movie the way Pike or Neil Patrick Harris did. If he did not play the lead character, his appearance to me was forgettable - even his penis and ass (which were much talked about) were, too.

So when I learned that the movie and Affleck got snubbed in this year's Golden Globes, I thought it was another injustice. But then again, the movie proved that they did not deserve to be on the list. Let's see if it gets nominated in the Academy Awards. 

Maybe this is me coming from too much hope to disappointment. A lot of people might disagree with me. I don't know. I'd like to know what you think.