Film Review: Is it Goodbye Oscar for Gone Girl?

After being absent from commercial movie theaters for nearly two months, I decided to march back last Friday to catch the first day showing of one of the most awaited films of the fall season.

"Gone Girl"  is Oscar-nominated director David Fincher's take of Gillian Flynn's runaway bestseller. It's a gorgeous film. Sleek and polished like every Fincher films of late. The score is sparse and moody and just about perfect.

I loved it!

Oh, yes, I loved it until the part when Fincher and Flynn (who wrote the screenplay) departed from the book and decided to extend what would have been a quick and wicked ending like in the book in favor of a coda that robbed the movie of its real and more powerful conclusion that came ten minutes earlier.

It's a petty excuse, I know. The detour does not diminish the overall pulp quality of the film and you can actually ignore my complaining and go watch this movie because it is still one of the really good movies this year and let us reward Rosamund Pike and Ben Affleck for their wicked and splendid performances in it. As well as Fincher's masterful direction.

Now on to the real question: Does the movie have enough elements of a real Oscar contender? I seriously doubt that now. The extended coda which I presume was conceptualized to allow the audience some breathing room until the final frame to connect it to the beginning was a good storytelling device, yes, but i think that decision backfired and made the film just appear ordinary in the company of other David Fincher masterpieces. The film is good, really good, only not exceptionally good. My standards are high because David Fincher made me set them high.

I was debating on what to headline this post. I was thinking "Gone, gone, Oscar!"

Rating: 4 Stars

XXX
Raymond Lo