Up & Coming Weekly

October 28, 2014

Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.

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OCT. 29 - NOV. 4, 2014 UCW 25 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM Gone Girl (149 minutes) is a long movie that flies by, an excellent translation of a novel that delights in its own nastiness. Fincher works from author Gillian Flynn's own adapted screenplay, a smart move since less capable hands might have downplayed the less admirable characteristics of Nick Dunne (Ben Affleck) in a mistaken effort to make him more likeable. I did walk away from the novel with the impression that Nick had been looking for an excuse to justify his eventual decision, while in the film he seems a little less resigned to his fate. Nick Dunne wanders around aimlessly around his yard, and then heads to The Bar to chat with his sister, Margo (Carrie Coon). While reading the novel, I pictured Nick's sister as more of a Jenny Slate type, and I don't think that Coon quite pulls off the effortless banter that the character requires. The back and forth between Nick and his sister gradually sours as she begins to suspect him of actually killing his wife; here, their repartee has an aura of bitterness from the beginning, making their disagreements later in the film less striking. Nick's neighbor calls The Bar, and Nick heads home to find the door open and the house in disarray. His wife, Amy (Rosamund Pike) is nowhere to be found, so Detective Rhonda Boney (Kim Dickens) and officer Jim Gilpin (Patrick Fugit) show up to investigate. Casting for these roles was infinitely better than for Margo, with Dickens improving upon a character that didn't quite come together for me in the novel. A media circus follows, with bits and pieces of information coming together to paint Nick as a formerly loving spouse turned unstable and violent. The diary entries reveal the slow spiral of a marriage gone sour, while tracing a seemingly airtight trail of guilt. Nick doesn't do himself any favors, flashing smarmy grins for the camera and getting caught in compromising situations. Finally, Nick calls in high-powered attorney Tanner Bolt (Tyler Perry). The lawyer character was simply ruined for me with the casting of Tyler Perry, in case anyone wondered. Or maybe not. Every time he smirked on screen I wanted to punch him in the face, which is probably the reaction authors are going for when they introduce smarmy, high-priced lawyers who specialize in defending people that are probably guilty. Spoiler Alert! Right around this time half the audience finds out the twist they missed by skipping the book. Amy's not dead! She is getting revenge on Nick for being a bad person and cheating on her with one of his students. She spent months building a case against Nick and planning her frame, which should make you take a look at your calendar and wonder about the amount of time you've wasted on Facebook. While you were playing Candy Crush, Amy was orchestrating an elaborate frame that included months of fake diary entries, making a fake best friend, using fake best friend's urine to forge a positive pregnancy test, maxing out their credit cards and hiding thousands of dollars of incriminating purchases. Anyway, when her first hideaway is compromised, she gets her ex-boyfriend (Neil Patrick Harris) to help, a move which he surely regrets right around the time she slits his throat. Overall, I liked the novel because it simultaneously convinced me Nick was innocent and guilty at the same time. Since I already knew the story the film version couldn't compete, but Fincher held my interest with his scenes of sudden, shocking violence that recalled The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and his ability to avoid lengthy exposition via flashbacks. Since so much of the novel consists of diary entries and Nick's internal monologue some exposition was unavoidable, but Fincher managed to show rather than tell most of the time. Amazing Amy Vs. BatFleck Gone Girl (Rated R) by HEATHER GRIFFITHS HEATHER GRIFFITHS, Contributing Writer. COMMENTS? Editor@ upandcomingweekly.com. 910.484.6200. MONDAY Jersey Giveaway & $5 Pizzas FRIDAY Live Music THURSDAY Corn Hole Tournament SATURDAY All Day College Football KickBack with us later, now open until 2 a.m. 5081 Morganton Rd., Fayetteville, NC 223-7676 • Open Daily 11am-2am kbjacks.com Direct TV NFL Package Sunday, Monday & Thursday IN THE MORNING Weekdays 5:30AM to 10:00AM

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