Movie Poster for Gone Girl via IMDb.com
I’ll be honest and say I read Gone Girl because I wanted to see the movie. I was planning on waiting until February when my book club will be reading it, but after hearing so many good reviews of the movie, I moved it up. And wow, I was floored by that movie. Woo!
Things I Thought Were Awesome
Ben Affleck. He was really incredible and I thought he did a really believable Nick. I wanted to like him and hate him at the same time. He was a scumbag but not a murderer.
Margo. I thought the relationship between Nick and Margo was almost better on-screen. The ‘twincest’ references made more sense when I saw them in the movie because I didn’t get the vibe so much from the book.
Changes That Didn’t Really Bother Me
Taking out Desi’s mom. I thought Jacqueline was a pointless character, to be honest. Her only purpose was defending Desi after he’d died and it was fruitless so why bother? It made him seem a little off that he was in his 30s and lived with his mom, seeming not to work at all. But there are these rich types, right?
Taking out Amy’s high school stalker. She added to Tommy’s story and made it seem all the more convincing that Amy’s somehow faking everything, but with Tommy included, it was no big deal.
Things That Were Taken Out and I’m Still Wondering Why
That killer of a closing line! The last line in the book is still in my brain and I wish they’d kept it in there to close the movie. It was the kind of closing line where you angrily turn the page to see the ‘About the Author’ section when you really wanted just one more page!
Things That Changed Too Much
I thought it was too much to take out Amy feeling trapped at Desi’s lake house. I felt that feeling of having to count on a man was part of what made ‘New Nick’ seem so appealing to her and why she ultimately decided she could be back with him. I did see Desi as controlling and wanting her to look like the Amy he remembered, but I didn’t get as much her feeling of helplessness with him. I wish that had been kept in somehow.
Overall Reactions
With all the details that went into Amy’s plan, I was skeptical of how they’d come across in the film and I was blow away by how well the story kept to the book. I know Flynn was involved in the screenwriting and film and I’m glad she was because she was able to make sure all the little things that make Amy so evil were there. I enjoyed this movie way more than I expected to and I would highly recommend it to anyone.
Reader, I’m dying to know what you think. What did you think of the Gone Girl movie? Was there anything else you would add to my lists? Were you as grossed out by the death scene toward the end as I was?
Until next time, write on.
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Taking On a World of Words 
I think your review is “movie” enough for me. I’ve enjoyed some of Ben Affleck’s films, but I don’t feel he does well in romantic roles, that’s just my own personal mileage though! 🙂
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I would say this is in no way a romantic role for him. Nick is very angry and distressed through most of the film. Granted, there are romantic flashbacks and I think he did those well, but it’s not the focus of the film at all.
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Hmmm, I was almost certain the premise of the story revolved around some twisted love affair.
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No, it’s about a couple but it’s very dark. The wife disappears on their 5th wedding anniversary and the jury’s out on whether the husband killed her or not. It’s a really well-written story but it’s a sort of anti-romance that details all that can be wrong in a relationship.
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Great review! I loved the book and thought they did a great job with the movie. I am not a big fan of Ben Affleck, but liked him in this role. He plays a very believable bad guy. Now it had been a while since I read the book so I forgot the closing line. I need to reread to see what that was! I do agree that her being in Desi’s lake house was a bit rushed. They took out a lot and the scenes they showed didn’t adequately convey just why she went back to Nick like she did.
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I think there were two main reasons Amy went back to Nick. One was the Nick she saw on TV, which was in the movie, but the other one, her frustration at being ‘kept’ by Desi, was glossed over. Oh well, you can’t win them all. Good adaptation in my opinion. 🙂
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I keep meaning to do a review and just haven’t done it. I loved the movie, and you pretty much brought up all the same points I would have, especially Desi. The movie made it seem like he was part of her plot, that it was circular. In the book, she is actually threatened by him. It is the one break in her facade. He is just as crazy as she is, and she can’t control him like she can everyone else. She has to get back to her safety.
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Calling Nick her safety is a great way to say it. She can control Nick whereas she couldn’t do the same with Desi. Poor Neil Patrick Harris!
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Hi Sam – I totally enjoyed your reviews on Gone Girl book and movie. I experienced them in the same order you did (book first, movie second.) I believe I got so much more out of the story in written form (one shocking revelation after another in the book) that wasn’t nearly experienced thru the movie, (even tho it did stick to the storyline.)
What I liked about your reviews: 1) That you said there were no characters in the book that you liked! Altho I didn’t think of that before, as soon as you said it I agreed. (I may have been a little softer on “book Margo” than you were, however.) 2) That you compared the experience at Desi’s home between the book and movie and thought it lost the emotional impact of being held prisoner in the movie. That was so true; I wonder how “just movie” viewers felt about the murder scene without feeling Amy’s anxiety? 3) Ben Affleck. Perfect.
On the whole, I was captivated with the book from page 1, but really was disappointed in how quickly things were wrapped up at the end.
Yet, since I was so intrigued by the book itself, I went on to read Gillian Flynn’s other 2 novels: Dark Places and Sharp Objects.
Dark Places is going to be released as a movie in 2015 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2402101/ – you def want to read this before seeing the movie! “Dark” is putting it mildly in this storyline – no spoilers here from me, but a strong recommendation…
Sharp Objects was her first novel, and, again I will not spoil your read, should you pick it up, except to say it focuses on 2 very uncomfortable psychological affectations, and that it really made me wonder about the mental state of the author! But after thinking about other horror writers (and that is how I see Gillian Flynn’s genre) I realized that if Steven King can be considered “normal” so can Ms. Flynn.
Sorry about the lengthy response, but I appreciated your reviews, and they made me consider other points of view– thanks for sharing!
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Hey Mari! Thanks for visiting. I think I liked Book Margo better than Movie Margo. She was easier to sympathize with.
I think taking out Amy’s anxiety made her murder of Desi seem a lot more cold-hearted. It was one little thing that helped you understand why she would do something so crazy.
I’ll have to add ‘Dark Places’ to my to-read list. I’ll want to see it for sure and I have a ‘Read First’ policy!
Thanks again for stopping by!
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