I read Gone Girl twice the year it came out, and the second time around I spent a great deal of time underlining some of the best passages, either for what they foreshadowed or simply for their genius observations. And when I saw the trailer, I couldn’t help but think of those quotes. So twisty. So wrong. So much to chew on.
But let’s start with this …
That Freaking Elvis Costello Song
“She” was made popular when the sweet, little rom-com Notting Hill came out, and I gotta say: lyrcially, it’s a lot more portentous than it is romantic, which makes it a perfect choice for this first look trailer. Check out these lines, then listen to the new cover, and tell me you don’t get chills thinking about the many faces of Amy Dunne.
She may be the beauty or the beast
May be the famine or the feast
May turn each day into a heaven or a hell
She may be the mirror of my dreams
The smile reflected in a stream
She may not be what she may seem inside her shell
I’m sufficiently creeped out.
This Freaking Bit of Fore-Knowledge
There’s so much amazing foreshadowing in the first 75 pages or so of the book that I wish I could throw them all in here and let us all sit amazed. But I’ll settle for one a little less spoilery that makes this screencap from the trailer just PUNCH YOU IN THE GUT with knowledge.
“My mother had always told her kids: if you’re about to do something, and you want to know if it’s a bad idea, imagine seeing it printed in the paper for all the world to see.”
The whole world is definitely noticing the giant flat screen in an international airport and national network television attention. #KnowledgeDrop
The Freaking Narcissism on Her
I’m really interested to see how Fincher weaves the past (and the real past, and the abridged past) into the narrative of the film. Especially when it comes to Amy’s point of view. Because how do you keep from creating sympathy without her despicable inner-logue? SO much about Amy is internalized, so what we see is all interpretation. My interpretation of this: I want to hate her like that couple at their table does …
“I don’t understand the point of being together if you’re not the happiest.”
… especially when she thinks shit like this.
OMG that other couple is going to have WE HATE THEM BUT ARE FANTASIZING ABOUT THEM sex later.
Their Freaking Dysfunction
My only real problem with the trailer was the decided lack of Rosamund as Amy. We see glimpses of how potent a presence she will be, but I hate to think that the title character is a ghost to Ben/Nick’s bigger story here. That’s not how it should be, and I’m sure Fincher knows that. The only moment of dialogue that we get shows us, at the very least, that she holds her own.
Even her ponytail is a condescending little bitch.
“I don’t know that we are actually human at this point, those of us who are like most of us, who grew up with TV and movies and now the Internet. If we are betrayed, we know the words to say; when a loved one dies, we know the words to say. If we want to play the stud or the smart-ass or the fool, we know the words to say. We are all working from the same dog-eared script.”
Ben Affleck’s Freaking FACE
I wish there was a better shot of Ben just looking like himself. Because if anyone was ever made to play a role, Ben Affleck was made to play Nick Dunne. Don’t believe me? Wanna balk at that? Then I give you: Nick and Amy’s own descriptions of Ben Affleck Nick.
“I have a face you want to punch: I’m a working-class Irish kid trapped in the body of a total trust-fund douchebag. I smile a lot to make up for my face, but this only sometimes works.”
“He looks like the rich-boy villain in an ’80s teen movie – the one who bullies the sensitive misfit, the one who will end up with a pie in the puss, the whipped cream wilting his upturned collar as everyone in the cafeteria cheers.”
Yep, #NailedIt.
That Freaking Killer Smile
This moment – THIS MOMENT – happens so early on in the book, and you cannot help but just groan with Mo, Nick’s sister. COME ON, NICK. Anything but that. Ben nails it.
“The news reports would show Nick Dunne, husband of the missing woman, standing metallically next to his father-in-law, arms crossed, eyes glazed, looking almost bored as Amy’s parents wept. And then worse. My longtime response, the need to remind people I wasn’t a dick, I was a nice guy despite the affectless stare, the haughty, douchebag face. So there it came, out of nowhere, as Rand begged for his daughter’s return: a killer smile.”
Good thing Ben got those veneers in 99.
Gone Girl officially became my number one anticipated movie of this year with just a short one and a half minute trailer, and a killer smile.
Have you read it yet? Trust me, this is NOT the book or movie you want to spoiled for, so don’t go looking for details online. Read the book now if you haven’t (WHY HAVEN’T YOU) because everyone will be talking about it when the movie finally comes out.
