Gone Girl, David Fincher

I initially watched this film in theaters, and loved it.  I immediately declared it my favorite Fincher.  This month, I impulsively checked out the book at the library, and was not disappointed.  Remember the insufferable cliché, "the book was muuuuuch better?"  I've always interpreted that to mean, "read the book before the watching the movie."  Well, that certainly didn't work for On the Road. In fact, reading the book prior made me feel outright disdain for the film.  But seriously, sample size! I shouldn't use that as gospel.  Gone Girl, the book, has really made me reconsider my stance on what comes first.

The book was an enjoyable read, one of the best in awhile.  The alternating POVs worked well, adding so much to Nick and Amy's characters.  Flynn's writing of Amy is amazing (Sorry, I had to). She's one of my favorite characters I've read, sort of a likable version of Cathy Trask.  I'm still not sure if I like that comp, but I'll leave it.  Nick is an oaf who never can quite shed his oafish-ness.  In terms of castings, I actually liked Affleck, Pike and Coon the most, based on their representation of the book's characters.  I didn't like Tyler Perry's character as much, but that was mostly due to the deviation from the book.  The book really went into Bolt's insane lawyer-ness, and the cool dynamic with Bolt's wife (Their law firm is Bolt & Bolt! Seriously.).  Neil Patrick Harris was also good, but the book was betttter... Desi Collings is just that guy.  That guy who gets off on the misfortune of women, who relishes playing the savior.  A glaring omission from the film is Desi's weird Oedipal stuff with his mom, who resembles Amy.  I really didn't like Boney and Gilpin in the film, REALLY didn't like them.  Flynn's description of them led me to believe they weren't simply an opportunity to plug in two more attractive faces.  I wanted the authentic Missourian look, think Fargo-lite, the McDormand ilk.  Gilpin was a nothing.  He was the dude bro along for the ride.  Boney was the detective detectiving.  Gilpin was there simply for the eyebrow raise.  Boney was Tommy Lee Jones in The Fugitive without a personality.

I don't really fault the film for not being a perfect adaptation.  I just wanted certain scenes to manifest onscreen, and when they didn't I was disappointed.  One scene I wasn't disappointed with (SPOILER INCOMING) was Amy's offing of Desi.  It really felt like Fincher, and was unquestionably my favorite part of the film.

Outside of what I've mentioned, there's one reason I loved the book so much more.  It's Amy.  It's post-woodshed Amy.  Actual Amy.  Plot-wise, the ending of the book had some more kinks, where both Nick and Amy were essentially battling to control public perception.  Amy simply outmaneuvered him.  There was also the stronger reinforcement of the idea of compatibility.  It became clear to me that Amy and Nick were compatible, something that seemed incomprehensible for most of the story.  I can't find any reason to not fully endorse this book.  Read it.