This movie was EXHAUSTINGLY GOOD!! Let me know your thoughts on this movie! Want to vote on what I should watch next? Click here! www.patreon.com/jamesvscinema Get ready for American History X movie reaction/commentary Wednesday! :) Enjoy the day!
Your opening reaction calling the guy scumbag off the bat, and nothing negative about the woman means your reactionary person.. think the film made its point
The whole thing with the cat is that I took it as the cat is the only real witness to what happened in the house. The cat is the only character who knows the truth
Also the cat was another way for us to see the humans true character. Sometimes people tend to treat the pets better than their humans. This was another way for us to see their true colors when they were stressed, angry, etc.
@@snnnaaaaaakeeeee4470 True. Tbh, I love superhero movies because they entertain me with colorful bright colors most of the time, powers, effects, and visuals. But this type of movie, especially Mystery/Thriller, I'm so attracted with it especially if it's dark, deep, gross, gory, disturbing, authentic, gritty, grim, grounded and this is the type of genres I want ti explore more and improve more especially with, detectives, police, how the procedures works, etc. Also, the VILLAINS. They are always the best part in mystery/thriller genres, tbh. So, we need to make them memorable, or unforgettable.
I really love how this film starts out making you think that it's a gritty psychological mystery/crime story - and then at the halfway point it pulls a screeching U-turn and reveals that it's actually been a much crazier, pulpier, absurd story than you realized. Like Amy herself, the film was pretending to be something else, and had everyone fooled until the big monologue. :)
Gillian Flynn, who wrote the screenplay and the novel for Gone Girl, also wrote the novel for the HBO show Sharp Objects. If you liked Gone Girl, check that show out, it’s great.
Tried to get to people watch it but not much results. The start can be kinda slow and overbearing for some but godamn it is good when it starts to unwind itself. Amy Adam's did her best and propably hardest work right there.
@@bencarlson4300 I was talking about Sharp Objects, it's a mini-series. The first episodes are pretty depressing and slow so atleast one woman that I got to watch it stopped it even tho I tried to convince her that the set-up is worth the pay-off. Amy Adam's is in it, Rosemund Pike is the one in Gone Girl.
Seeing this movie made me imagine what reading the book it's based on was like as an experience. Imagine turning the page and starting a new chapter where she is narrating being alive and meticulously planning out her entire murder and framing her husband, after all the evidence against him. That must have been gasp inducing and a total shock.
It absolutely was! I read the book before seeing the movie, and let me tell you, it was an absolute rollercoaster of an experience. It's very similar to how it's revealed in the movie in how they keep you on the edge of your seat trying to figure out what the hell is going on right up until the dropping of how Amy planned the whole thing. I can't tell you how many times I went back and forth on whether or not I believed Nick was the killer. It's one of those books where you start out thinking, "he's crazy" to "wait no, SHE'S crazy" to finally "okay, so everyone's crazy" lmao.
It was exactly like that. I spent the first half convinced he killed her and then BAM, nope....She's alive. Started off hating him, then her, then both.
It was absolutely an experience. If I remember right it was in three parts, and Amy’s part was part 2, and seeing all the pieces fall together was amazing, a total wtf moment. There’s only ever one book I think that’s had a twist like that.
@tear drops Even if she wasn't going to go back to Nick, the only way she could be free again was if Desi was dead. The book describes her unease about how prepared everything is for her - a bedroom painted in a former favourite color, a greenhouse full of tulips because those were her favourite flowers when they were dating, etc. She wonders how long he expects her to stay. So, feeling him out and looking to gain back control, she asks for some money, in case she has to disappear quickly. Instead of the expected credit card or stack of cash he gives her 40 dollars and she realizes she might be in trouble. The house is surrounded by walls that are several meters high and he explicitly tells her he would go to the police if she were to ever leave. She's effectively his prisoner, though it's not clear if he realises how creepy he's being. Of course, taking it literally requires us to believe her narration, but considering she doesn't make him look overly villainous, I'm tempted to believe her account.
Amy is such a fascinating character, and I wish we had more female characters like her. So messed up from her parents and in turn messes up others. She's interesting and amazing to watch while still being irredeemable. A top tier female villain.
Its always good to know the antagonists intent and what drives them even if they are a murderer. Amy's logic may be flawed, self indulgent and narcissistic. As the woman in the Ozarks basically straight up tells her.
Who knew well written women and villains can be good villains with no real iredeamable qualities. The trauma of her past does not give her the excuse to be this insane .. i like that. Some become really good people heroes.. others become the villian.
Credit where credit is due due for the amazing director David Fincher, but let's not forget Gillian Flynn who adapted her own novel and making the screenplay for the movie as well.
Fincher elevates every script he films. That said, he's not a writer, so he can't make a bad or even so-so script into a great film. Benjamin Button is a perfect example.
@@Finians_Mancave I thought The Curious Case of Benjamin Button was a beautifully melancholic modern fairy tale that shows Fincher expanding his range as a storyteller. Not giving us an intense mystery or thriller but instead a soft, soulful meditation on the ups the downs, the connections made and lost, as well as the tragic beauty of one very unique person's life.
I love how society treating her like a delicate flower leads to people just ignoring obvious holes in her stories; allowing her to get away with the crimes.
the cool girl speech is one of the most relatable things I’ve ever heard, coming from a guy. and the atmosphere (specifically the visuals and the music) is one of my favorites in film
I was devastated for days after watching this movie, I just couldn’t take the fact that Afflecks character and their baby was gonna live with such a dangerous and explosive person.
You were exhausted after Whiplash... and Fury Road?! Literally those movies have such awesome emotional journeys that make me so excited after finishing them
@kshamwhizzle That's another one, seen it at least 5 times. He has a hell of a catalog. Only one I can think of that I wasn't a big fan of was Benjamin Button.
The director's commentary said that cat (Mr. Cheeto) would stay wherever you placed him. Stay, for hours and hours. So unlike most filming and animals, the cat was easy to put on screen, cooperative and no continuity errors. By the way, every woman understands the cool girl speech. Reading it, you were like 'oh. She's putting it out there what we've unspokenly agreed we don't talk about. Okay. Interesting.'
@@npcimknot958 It's not that black and white. She may be manipulating the narrative, but what she said in the cool girl monologue is relatable for most women.
Do you not see the most disturbing part? They will stay together not merely because of Amy’s plotting, but because Amy has a point: not only does she relish jumping back into being cool girl for the public, but Nick secretly likes himself better as that suave guy Amy is going to force him to be. At the end of the day they’re happy in a really demented codependent way. They’re happier than many couples because they at least have found a way to lock their partner into being the best version of themself. Media scrutiny and intimidation. It’s like the world’s most deeply committed codependent relationship. I don’t feel sorry for nick and I don’t see Amy as any feminist icon. They’re both eager to embrace the sick life they are making together. Margot knows.
Still remember my jaw unhinging watching this for the first time. Amy played the game well. She knew Nick would make himself look like a fool to the public.
@Theomite According to her claims in the book (whatever they're worth, considering Amys track record with the truth), she knew he would look like an idiot - and a guilty one at that. Supposedly, the original plan was suicide after the interesting news coverage was over. Not sure if we can believe that she would've done it. She would've eventually killed Desi in any case though. She felt absolutely disgusted by him and he threatened to go to the police if she ever left so it was either wait for him to die or kill him herself.
I disagree. He stood out probably because she didn't like the project he was. He attempted suicide which is something HE decided. She is all about controlling people as the rapist said, she took him on as a project and controlled him throughout. When he tried to step away, she went 'for the kill'. In that instance get him to be the rapist. Desi, beat her to the punch so she had to cut it off and move on because he tried to commit suicide...in my opinion. I think he was wonderfully cast.
@@Duenschissdoktor I dunno why NPH didn't fit for me. I saw him on SVU as a creepo murderer preying on women and I thought he was amazing in it. His performance really scared and stuck with me, and I'd already seen him as Harold and Kumar's legendary hilarious NPH. His vibes just not compatible with this film. Maybe it's like chemistry: some actors have on screen chemistry, some don't. NPH and Gone Girl don't have the right chemistry.
The fact that it blew up really quickly was the writer leaning into the "missing white girl" hysteria/stereotype that media usually takes on in the states.
That's a theme that also appears in the authors other book Sharp Objects to an extent. Gillian Flynn seems to be fascinated by the way people perceive violence and cruelty based on gender, and how she doesn't just write a female villain who is devilish and evil, but they're always leaning into the poor, waify, I'm more likely to be the victim thing to get people off their trail. Abusive and awful men and women use their power dynamics differently to abuse one another and I love the way Gillian tackles it with nuance.
Yep, the whole book and movie are about how there are certain narratives that people like to hear so the media tells them those stories over and over again, so often that someone can predict how the media and people will react and use that to make her husband look guilty.
Ah demn. Fincher. Got couple of his movies on DVD. I do recommend listening to his commentaries, very informative and funny as well. This is a dark one, and greatly made. It's just a mean movie, most of the people are assholes or worse. Hadn't had the chance to read the book, I heard it's good. Not gonna lie, have to say 1st, because I was ;) Leaving a like, gonna watch it later, because busy, busy, busy, but as always great choice. PS. American History X is another "fun" film. Great performances and a story that will break Your heart ;) Have a great day man!
Seconding Fincher’s commentaries. They’re fun. In this one, he mentions the moment an audience of women going from supporting Affleck’s character to wanting him dead (when the affair is revealed) - all leaning back in their seats and crossing their arms.
Another great pick. Love Fincher. Such an intricate filmmaker with a distinct style. It's interesting how he always uses CGI in each film but hides it really well.
Worst thing is IMO, she ends up pregnant with another man's baby, who she murdered =/ And Nick has no choice but to deal with it, or look like a complete and utter scum bag, never get a job again, never have another relationship ever. She trapped him so bad :( it's really sad
Loved how you picked up on her parents narcissism & how it shaped Amy into a split personality or something like it. The book describes how Nick had a character flaw of smiling inappropriately at the wrong time. If you know that about him, then your less likely to judge him based on that. But to anyone on the outside looking in, in the event of his wife missing, possibly murdered, that character flaw makes him look insanely guilty, not to mention his reactionless demeanor at times. So the woman that comes up to him & randomly takes a picture with him, was deliberately capitalizing on that character flaw, which she no doubt had observed. Very sinister. She had already judged him as guilty, & wanted to cement that. The overlaying theme is of a genius level manipulative, narcissistic, psychopath/sociopath who knows how to manipulate everything & everyone around her, & a husband who was in lust or infatuation, didn't know what true love was, or how to love, how to tell the difference, & picked very poorly when it came to a spouse. They were both portraying a fake personna, to get what they thought they wanted. But the underlying theme, is how easily the system can be controlled or manipulated if you know how, & you're diabolical enough to do it....
It always drives me crazy when people freak out about him smiling. He’s nervous, he’s got a bunch of cameras on him, & a reporter yells “smile”, so he does it instinctively. I totally understood that & he realized immediately that it was stupid to do, but he couldn’t stop himself. I’m sure a lot of us would do the same thing in the same position, & people are always so quick to judge.
I remember seeing this in theaters, me and my friends had this unlimited card for this movie theatre chain and we went to 1-3 movies a week (96 showings in the 1st year) but this is one of the experiences that still stands out. What a trip. The journey it took us on. Delicious but heavy. I believe the screenplay is by Gillian Flynn, the author of the original novel. She also adapted her novel Sharp Objects into an amazing 8 episode HBO series, fully directed by Jean-Marc Vallée (Dallas Buyers Club, Big Little Lies). He creates a beautiful, haunting atmosphere through cinematography and music. Stellar cast too. Highly recommend it, either on the channel or on your own.
12:28 one of my favourite moments in movie history...it's exactly at 1hour 6mins and 5secs in the original runtime...yuppp that's how much I love this film....the direction, acting, music, editing, cinematography literally everything is top notch.
I loved how most men and women perceived this movie differently. For men it's about a crazy homicidal maniac who will do anything to achieve her ends and for women it's about a f*ckboi who gets f*ucked over by the woman he cheated on. Perceive it as you like, that's the beauty of Fincher.
I think you'll find that for most normal people, regardless of their gender, it's about two narcissists people being selfish and scummy to each other. One of them just happens to be particularly psychotic. Neither of them are "likeable" or "good" people. They kinda deserve each other.
You did what you came to do 😭 there’s more to the perspective of a woman than just a scorned lover but I most of us recognize that but everyone wants to look at it as just so. I feel like the author (I can’t remember her name is it Gillian or something like that?) has done many of these double sided perspectives. I love her work sm.
The book's author was heavily inspired by the Scott Peterson case in California and Ben Affleck was specifically cast because he looked like Scott. Of course the GG story went a very different way than what happened to Lacy, but it's a cool fact for watching the beginning of the story unfold.
My girlfriend and I wend to the theaters to see this film after reading the book, great adaptation, we were surprised how well it translated to film, ending is different but still good
I think on the cat appearing at random times, it's just showing how EVERYONE is observing Nick and Amy's life. No matter who it is, even a cat. Their life is under a scope
Gillian Flynn said that the idea for Amy was that she wanted to create a female villain that weaponised femininity in a way that defies classic female archetypes. She isn't a femme fetale, a black widow or an evil witch, but she uses the public and medias sympathies to the woman's role and these cliches as her weapon of choice. She is the ultimate chameleon. Interesting then that she is so misogynistic to other women. This is why I love LOVE her character, I don't sympathise with her at all as she is an unredeemable monster, but I don't think there's a woman on the planet who hasn't played a different role to fit into a situation or a relationship.
Choosing all my favorite movies lately! This one is in my top 5, had my jaw on the floor the first time I watched it. I’m sure you know by now, but the Screenplay was done by the person who wrote the source material Gillian Flynn which I think really elevated the movie. I’m also a big fan of the score, it’s light and whispy in the happier flashbacks and then ratchets up the tension in other moments. Could talk about this movie forever, really enjoyed your reaction to it!
This movie is so cynical about marriage but if you’ve been in a bad marriage, shoot, this is true to life. Not to say it would go to the extremes of this movie but, damn, that claustrophobic dark feeling is spot on. Divorce lawyers will never go out of business.
I love how it has so much going on. Especially the media angle. You can understand Amy even if she is a sociopath and irredeemable but you get her thoughts and motivations. You also can understand and relate to Ben Affleck. Both are flawed, Amy in a much more extreme way but still. I love the portrayal of all the armchair detectives, psychologists etc that make wild statements about the situation.
I honestly can't relate to Nick at all. He keeps doing what's easy - cheat on his wife with a very young, very impressionable woman (absolutely disgusting), spend his time at the bar instead of confronting the issues they have had for years now, using his pick-me sister to validate his misogyny("women are crazy", go said. Go didn't consider herself to be part of the category of woman). His passivity pisses me off to no end. Obviously, what Amy does is indefensible, but the motivation behind it rings true. Nick, on the other hand, barely does anything and whenever he does do something, it's the most convenient thing for him.
This movie hits hard for me since it reminds me so much of my mother, I know its bad to talk down on one of your parents but she had a differently personality for every man she robbed and cheated, I hope no one else has to deal with such a despicable person, someone who would lie and then dispose of those unwanted and uneeded all in the name of personal gain.
she's an antisocial narcissist, she IS IN NO WAY "worried" about his instability. what she realizes is "oh shit. he's gonna be in my way - an obstruction to MY plans". psychopath/sociopaths *(which is actually just diagnosed as antisocial personality disorder **-BOTH-** as neither are medically recognized as a legit diagnosis themselves and are only colloquially terminology - but i digress)* DON'T possess the ability to feel fear in the same way we, without the disorder do --- and narcissists don't place worth on humans as we do. they are merely & SOLELY means to an end in their plots (pawns, if you will) BARELY humanity in these types of "humans"
This film definitely had balls to show a female villain who did genuinely evil things and was not just a victim of a bad upbringing or broken by a bad man. That’s the other side of female agency that feminists typically don’t want to acknowledge. It’s not right to credit women’s heroic deeds while at the same time always downplaying their agency whenever they commit crimes
One of the reasons the script is SO good is because it’s based on an excellent novel. Most of the dialogue is directly from the original text...because the author of the book is also the author of the screenplay 👍
exhausting is a great description. i need to watch the movie but the book... i dont think i have ever said "wtf?" audibly so many times reading something in my life.
The experience of reading this book and getting to part 2 to find out the big reveal was an incredible experience. I think the book does an even better job of absolutely convincing you that you know what happened, and then slapping you in the face the next page.
I thought it was pretty meh myself. It has some shocking imagery but some of the characters and plot didn't make any sense. It was a good homage though but def prefer the original.
I actually loved how you got so engrossed in the story that you didn't even get into coloring, framing, cinematography etc while watching the movie. Goes to show that if you have a great story pretty mich all you need is good actors and good editing you're good to go
Every young man should watch this film before they leave their teens because it would help to remind them that females represent 50% of the population...and that includes the psychopaths and sociopaths as well. Many experts believe that number to be much higher. Before the females get their titties in a knot, I didn't say HOMICIDAL MANIACS (I.E...serial killers)...I said PSYCHOPATHS and SOCIOPATHS, most of whom, operate covertly.
Sociopath meets Narcissist. 'Why did God create so many different personalities and ways of thinking and living? God Loves stories. If we were all the same, there would only be one story' - Paraphrasing Elie Wiesel
21:45 She's jumping on it because most women who get murdered get murdered by a current or former spouse. The amount of things that point to Nick in addition to the factor of him being her husband make it the most sensible conclusion to come to
Fincher The GOAT. My 2nd favourite film of all time is The Social Network, Finchers directing, the score, the writing, the pacing everything about it is near perfect. He's one of the best imo, so happy I got to experience you experience this film though, Ben affleck is serious underrated.
I really dig this film. I love the precision in the visual filmmaking. David Fincher is a master at that. His new film Mank comes later this year on Netflix. Can’t wait to see that. Great vid, man. Seeing you react to Boogie Nights or The Master would be great.
ugh what a prime example of a perfect movie. Story with a perfect beginning, middle and end. Beautiful. And the soundtrack? 10/10. Cinematography? A+. Just perfect. I must have seen this movie 20+ times. I get chills every time Amy screams "Not even close! "
ahhh glad you enjoyed it! Since you liked the cinematography, score and directing, I highly recommend David Fincher's The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo! The story is so dense and it's done brilliantly
