Ben Affleck Joint: Gone Girl

[Germ War]

[spoiler] I mean as a culture we don't really need to reintroduce either the "crazy bitch" or "women can fake rape and ruin men's lives" memes into discussions of sexual violence.[/spoiler]

Jesus, THANK YOU. This was my exact reaction to the movie. Like, hey, it was pretty interesting plot-wise and there was a lot going on with it, but it seemed decidedly anti-feminist at a time when it seems particularly dangerous to reintroduce these topics into the national discussion.

Otherwise, the storyline was pretty good with some occasionally wooden dialogue, but I couldn't help but wonder whether they were intentionally delivered as such, a la American Psycho. I didn't love this movie, but I thought it was meatier than most and at least offered some solid discussion afterward amongst my friends and me.

[Heliotropic]

time sensitive art

[madmanmunt]

time sensitive art

Would not wear this T-shirt.

[iembalm]

Saw it today and it disturbed the hell out of me. Not very consistent, tone-wise, although I suppose that could be the "unreliable narrator" element, in which case, bravo.

[sparky]

There are some things I am just not doing, watching a movie starring Ben Affleck is one of them

The best part of the film stars BAffleck's shiteating grin. The direction might have been "make me vomit with your smile, Ben."

I liked it quite a bit, but I've a soft spot for Fincher's cruel and crude laughs. Until it ditched fiddling with plausibility, I enjoyed its jocularly brutal idea of relationships being based on play-acting and mutual incomprehension; it's juvenile, but funny and bracing next to the soppy pap that usually passes for marriage in Hollywood.

But,

[spoiler] I mean as a culture we don't really need to reintroduce either the "crazy bitch" or "women can fake rape and ruin men's lives" memes into discussions of sexual violence.[/spoiler]

True. This didn't bother me when watching it, but it spoils it.

[fedaykin13]

There are some things I am just not doing, watching a movie starring Ben Affleck is one of them

The best part of the film stars BAffleck's shiteating grin. The direction might have been "make me vomit with your smile, Ben."

.

Apparently Fincher did a google search on smiles and saw Baffleck's--then offered him the job

[sparky]

Apparently Fincher did a google search on smiles and saw Baffleck's--then offered him the job

That is wonderful if it is true. Affleck played the berk well indeed.

[eliya]

Watched it on Sunday and the rest of the post contains some spoilers.

It's hard to watch a mystery movie when you know the ending, and how the ending is revealed. The whole thing felt rushed to me. Every scene felt like a trailer for the movie (or a trailer for the actual scene from the book). There was also zero character development. Almost nothing about the messed up relationship she had with her parents, nothing about Nick's relationship with his. The talk about past, alleged creeps was also very minimal. The ending was just as disappointing as the book's, but I will say that thinking about the ending again, I realize there was no other choice. Anyway, the whole thing felt a bit heavy handed, and didn't have the same impact as the book.

I thought Ben Affleck was good playing that smarmy jackhole. Rosamund Pike was even better than he was playing her character.

[Ranxerox]

The ending was just as disappointing as the book's, but I will say that thinking about the ending again, I realize there was no other choice.

Disagree.

Leave Her to Heaven/The Good Son -- only do it in a way which makes it clear that Affleck's character is a creepy sociopath as well -- properly fleshes out the discussion on PC dynamics and the lot, as well.

[Clyde]

David Fincher is the sort of meticulous director who can trick the viewer into thinking his films have more gravitas than they really do. In this case, though, I think the self-serious gloom of the his style is so at odds with the trashiness of the plot that it serves to highlight the stupidity of the whole thing. Someone like David Croenberg or Mary Harron or even Paul Verhoeven could have played up the creepy campiness of the film. Couple of other things-The duel unreliable narrators conceit largely doesn't work as the film mostly encourages us to identify the basic goodness of Baffleck, his head-slamming of Amy at the end aside. (And, hey, she may have driven him to that, ya know.) And the satire of Nancy Grace and her ilk in the media is amusing enough for what it is I guess, but a pretty soft target. Even the marriage-isn't-what-it-seems was straight out of an Erma Bombeck column.
Finally, I'm not a huge fan of Eileen Jones--and I don't agree with everything she writes here--but this is a good take: https://www.jacobinmag.com/2014/10/horr ... le-family/

[Frank Decent]

Entertaining enough. Nothing great, but worth a view. I did feel a little weird when the whole "crazy woman faking rape, etc" plot came into play, but it wasn't over the top, and it was balanced by his assholeish behaviour. They didn't make the guy a saint. The best part about it was the incredibly unsatisfying ending. I wanted so bad for her to be dead or arrested or whatever resolution and there just wasn't one coming. Somehow that was better.

[Adam Sr]

Not Crap but Crap. Wild Things for the HBO crowd.

[Bernardo]

I didn't buy the ending, I don't think his choice made any sense, especially after his image had already been dragged through the sewers anyway.

I can't help but think there was a far more ambiguous / less heavy handed way of doing that story. As soon as it cuts to her perspective it gets far too blatant. It was worth watching, NC, but nothing special.

[Gramsci]

Entertaining enough. Nothing great, but worth a view. I did feel a little weird when the whole "crazy woman faking rape, etc" plot came into play, but it wasn't over the top, and it was balanced by his assholeish behaviour. They didn't make the guy a saint. The best part about it was the incredibly unsatisfying ending. I wanted so bad for her to be dead or arrested or whatever resolution and there just wasn't one coming. Somehow that was better.

I hated the ending. It ruined the film. 90% of the film was great and it just sort of went "meh" for the last ten minutes. I don't necessarily mean her dead etc. but some kind of twist or grand resolution was totally missing.

[Frank Decent]

Entertaining enough. Nothing great, but worth a view. I did feel a little weird when the whole "crazy woman faking rape, etc" plot came into play, but it wasn't over the top, and it was balanced by his assholeish behaviour. They didn't make the guy a saint. The best part about it was the incredibly unsatisfying ending. I wanted so bad for her to be dead or arrested or whatever resolution and there just wasn't one coming. Somehow that was better.

I hated the ending. It ruined the film. 90% of the film was great and it just sort of went "meh" for the last ten minutes. I don't necessarily mean her dead etc. but some kind of twist or grand resolution was totally missing.

I understand. I think I'm just tired of getting a nice resolution all the time - even with a twist they feel played out. It always seems so forced when those things are added, seemingly in an effort to make me feel better, instead of letting things be a bit more mysterious. But, I totally get you. It could be disappointing or, even lazy.

[Gramsci]

Entertaining enough. Nothing great, but worth a view. I did feel a little weird when the whole "crazy woman faking rape, etc" plot came into play, but it wasn't over the top, and it was balanced by his assholeish behaviour. They didn't make the guy a saint. The best part about it was the incredibly unsatisfying ending. I wanted so bad for her to be dead or arrested or whatever resolution and there just wasn't one coming. Somehow that was better.

I hated the ending. It ruined the film. 90% of the film was great and it just sort of went "meh" for the last ten minutes. I don't necessarily mean her dead etc. but some kind of twist or grand resolution was totally missing.

I understand. I think I'm just tired of getting a nice resolution all the time - even with a twist they feel played out. It always seems so forced when those things are added, seemingly in an effort to make me feel better, instead of letting things be a bit more mysterious. But, I totally get you. It could be disappointing or, even lazy.

Exactly. It was a total ride of a film and then it felt like the director and writer just went "fuck it... this films has been going on for ages... just end it".

The film is kind like Fight Club in that it is a reflection on the US media and popular culture etc. But the end just made me and my wife go "meh?"

[eliya]

Entertaining enough. Nothing great, but worth a view. I did feel a little weird when the whole "crazy woman faking rape, etc" plot came into play, but it wasn't over the top, and it was balanced by his assholeish behaviour. They didn't make the guy a saint. The best part about it was the incredibly unsatisfying ending. I wanted so bad for her to be dead or arrested or whatever resolution and there just wasn't one coming. Somehow that was better.

I hated the ending. It ruined the film. 90% of the film was great and it just sort of went "meh" for the last ten minutes. I don't necessarily mean her dead etc. but some kind of twist or grand resolution was totally missing.

I understand. I think I'm just tired of getting a nice resolution all the time - even with a twist they feel played out. It always seems so forced when those things are added, seemingly in an effort to make me feel better, instead of letting things be a bit more mysterious. But, I totally get you. It could be disappointing or, even lazy.

Exactly. It was a total ride of a film and then it felt like the director and writer just went "fuck it... this films has been going on for ages... just end it".

The film is kind like Fight Club in that it is a reflection on the US media and popular culture etc. But the end just made me and my wife go "meh?"

That's how the book ended also, so I think it was more of a decision made by the writer of the book rather than the director and whoever made the book into a script.

The ending was anticlimactic, but in a way it's fitting. I don't think about the book or movie anymore. Meh.

[Gramsci]

Yeah. It was really odd way to end but I almost get it... possibly a further reflection on the culture of "meh..." kind of like the two security guards at the end of The Truman Show shrugging and switching channels.

Still after hours!!! of tension we get, "oh, I'll just keep hanging out with the crazy woman". At least it could have been some conspiratorial thing between the two of them to rob the rich guy...

Anyway, this film was crap

[crustandcrumb]

i hated it.

[Heeby Jeeby]

I read the book on a long train journey and my girlfriend just finished it yesterday. Both agreed that the ending was terrible.

Couple of other things-The duel unreliable narrators conceit largely doesn't work as the film mostly encourages us to identify the basic goodness of Baffleck, his head-slamming of Amy at the end aside. (And, hey, she may have driven him to that, ya know.)

That's the thing. Using dual narrators could've allowed for split affinities but it was clear for the most part that Affleck was to be considered the flawed protagonist. Even with that, a different ending could've forced the reader/viewer to reconsider identifying with him throughout.