Spoiler Alert: DO NOT READ this breakdown if you haven’t seen the film. It is impossible to say anything useful about the writing without discussing the critical plot twists.
With the tidal wave of superhero movies coming out of Hollywood, I get very excited when a serious crime story like Gone Girl comes along. Which is also why I was so disappointed when Gone Girl turned out to be a lot less than its hype suggested.
This isn’t a bad film or a bad script by novelist Gillian Flynn. But it has serious problems. Some were embedded in the original story. Some came from adapting the novel to film.
I have a particular pet peeve about reviewers who give the director all the credit when the film is good, and give the writer all the blame when the film is bad. So let me be consistent: it’s always in the script. Except for those instances when the director forces the writer to do something (not uncommon in Hollywood), credit, and blame, for the film rests with the writer.The biggest flaw in this script, and the source of all the other flaws, has to do with the main characters of the original story. The convoluted story structure of Gone Girl is designed to hide the plot twists until the most dramatic moment. But it’s also designed to make these two main characters, Nick and Amy, appear to be complex. Neither is what they first seem to be.
Normally that is one of the signs of good writing. But not here, because these characters are not complex at all. About half way through, when the convoluted structure becomes clear, we, the audience, are struck by a horrifying revelation: this story is a battle between an idiot and a psychopath.As the story progresses, Nick becomes even more stupid, while Amy becomes even more insane. This sort of character opposition allows the writer to create plot (although much of it is fake), but it completely shuts down any character exploration. Three traits you never want to give your characters if you want the audience to understand the whys of human behavior is to make them stupid, insane or evil, and this story has all three. When that happens, it’s move along people, no character insights to be gained here.
And that leads us to plot. All the talk has been about the big surprises in this movie, and how they must not be divulged. Forgive me for saying so, but the crime plot in Gone Girl is no better than the average TV detective show. In fact, the Detective/Police Procedural, the most popular TV genre in the world, is done much better on the top shows than it is here.
Crime and Detective stories are the most plot heavy of all genres. Which means that they push the bounds of believability in order to get their effects. The trick to the best stories in these forms is to be able to surprise the audience fairly. In other words, make the characters do things that fool the audience while at the same time remaining true to what these characters, and human beings in general, would actually do.
As this movie went on, the plot twists weren’t surprising. They were ridiculous. Some have argued that this is really an absurdist Black Comedy that pushes its plot to the edge on purpose. If it had any Black Comedy elements at all (see the Black Comedy beats in the Comedy Class), I would be happy to give it the benefit of the doubt. It doesn’t. And even the most extreme Black Comedy (like Dr. Strangelove) only works when its plot beats are grounded in the way real human beings act.
The best argument I’ve heard for what made the original novel special is how it uses crime elements to highlight a modern marriage gone bad. But Flynn has stated that she had great difficulty condensing the novel down to screenplay form without sacrificing any of the crime plot. When the story is leaned out to this level – making sure all the crime beats are present – the crucial details about the marriage are just not there. So we’re left with a couple of highly unlikeable people whose marriage is just another version of the War of the Roses. And that doesn’t tell me anything about a modern marriage.
What’s missing in the shift from novel to film? Flynn can’t include all the things Nick did, big and small, that made Amy come to hate him and justify taking her revenge in such an extreme way. But that is the one essential requirement to making this story work. So what’s Flynn’s shorthand solution: Amy’s a psychopath. No other justification is needed. But as soon as that becomes clear, about halfway through, the movie is effectively over.
Finally, the ending. This was much discussed when Gone Girl first came out as a novel. Given the set up of the story, I can’t say I was surprised by it. But I was still disappointed. I hoped that somehow Flynn would come up with a plot twist that really did surprise me, that made me understand that these were real people after all. And that this was a tragedy of a great love gone bad.
Alas, that was not to be. Flynn doubled down on her character portrayals. Amy got even nuttier. Nick became a moron who deserved to be put out of his misery. And everyone else in this universe seemed to have become hopelessly stupid as well.
No doubt people will argue that this movie is a hit at the box office. But I would caution screenwriters out there not to learn the wrong lesson. If you’ve written a novel that has sold over two million copies in one of the most popular genres in worldwide storytelling, you’ve got as good a shot at a hit film as there is in Hollywood. But that doesn’t mean the film is good. And if you haven’t written a best-selling novel, you won’t get away with this stuff.
Totally agree. Thought the movie was entertaining but WAY over the top.
I forced myself to finish the book. I hated it. I wanted to kill the guy and send the girl to the depths of hell.
And I thought when I finished maybe it was good writing since it gave me such a strong feeling of hate.
Still, it was a slosh of words to read through.
Very disappointed in Gone Girl. Too long. Too stupid. Not surprised at plot twists. Waste of time and money. Had not read the novel. Only went because Ben Affleck was attached. Not his best work by a long shot.
I agree also. The only thing that could have saved that ending is if Nick had figured out a way to outsmart Amy. If he’d outplayed her at her game, that would have been a satisfactory ending. Instead he’s just a moronic victim. And can you imagine a kid stuck with parents like that?
Could not agree more with John and could not disagree more with him as well.
If you take that film at face value, it’s a shapless, emotionless, meaningless, impudent piece of junk.
Still I think it is the best satirical film ever made. Cause it’s the first time in film history, that someone did the right thing: directing a satire not like a comedy, but like a thriller. And maybe it takes a perverted genius like Fincher – who is so obviously the most passionate hater of the human race amongst contemporary film makers – to achieve this unique, interesting, thought-provoking, very adult and still very entertaining masterpiece.
I think Dr. Strangelove is a bad movie, because all the characters don’t behave like real people. They are just performing exaggerated clownery. In Gone Girl, they play it real, not funny. In a satire you have to deal with characters, that you don’t like. It is the premise of each satire: the world is bad, everyone is a crook, and there is no remedy for it. It defies all laws of charakter change and empathetic approach of storytelling. It plainly says: we are all assholes and we all deserve to suffer.
Most filmmakers who tried themselves in this form thought they needed the comedy element to make this bitter pill swallowable for the audience. But all you get is grotesque. Fincher was clever enough not to make this mistake. Or by accident just nailed, cause it is his style.
“SPOILING ALERT”
You’re absolutely right!
And even worth: How come Amy isn’t arrested for murder with all those video cameras in the chalet???!!!
it’s so obvious that her story in front of the video of her, in the room, hiding the weapon of the crime (the cutter) in the bed…
No… really, the beginning of the movie is tasteful, but it become more and more dumb until the very end.
Anyway, Many thanks John, your writing method change my life! (I saw your masterclass in Paris a few years ago)
Keep up the good work
Mr. Truby, I couldn’t agree more.
I have only watched this film once, so please forgive any mistakes.
Ben’s character has no psychological need. He has a slight moral need. We later find out he is cheating on his wife with a student, but he doesn’t have a self revelation about it, and that’s supposed to the inciting Incident for Amy’s apparent plan to fake her death. Very weak. What happened to the cause of law and effect? A leads to B, C leads to D. Nick’s an adulterer, so Amy fakes her death? Talk about going to the extreme.
With oration of Amy’s voice, at the beginning of the movie; which is an advanced structure tool to use for making the story move forwards and backwards on two legs; cuts the mystery opponent part early– does not carry it right to the end of the movie, the most powerful part, killing the suspense– and shows Amy’s plot to frame Nick. It felt like I was watching two stories stuck together.
In Rom-coms you have two well defined characters, but even then you have one more primary than the other; the character you’re telling the story through. So with Amy’s voice over, I felt that she was driving the story, even though it was through words, not actions; that’s where you can see
the script was sculpted from a novel. But she’s not in the story at the beginning, only through flashbacks. And, Nick’s character was, basically, a victim. Never driving the scene, always responding to what was happening. Boring!
The beats highlighted in the detective genre are mystery opponent and self revelation, and to truly transcend the genre, you give the detective the problem. And the true self revelation is what the detective is guilty of, not who shot Joe Blow. But by the end of the movie, we know Nick hasn’t killed Amy, and we supposed to be gripped by how she will get out of her predicament.
Amy arrives home; myth beat. We get a sense of movement and growth. Now Nick’s afraid of his wife; vice-versa from the start of the movie, with the new equilibrium at a low level, if we look at it from a relationship POV. But higher from a monetary POV, as the pair were struggling financially.
What we learn after over 2 hours of film? Not even the great Fincher can create a good film with a bad script. Learn your craft fellow writers.
At least you can´t blame this movie for being infantile like most films now coming out of Hollywood. So please give this film a chance 😉
A grown up film from grown ups for grown ups. When was the last time you could watch something like that?
Maybe it´s by no means what one expected it to be.
But it surprises with some really provoking stuff.
ACTOR: What’s my motivation, here?
DIRECTOR: There isn’t one. You’re nuts.
ACTOR: Get out!
I personally liked the movie, but opinion aside, my primary issue with this critique of the film’s structure is the assertion that it is not a Black Comedy because it does not contain any elements off his list of what makes a Black Comedy and does not fit Truby’s list of Black Comedy beats. To me, this is kind of like someone asserting that they are an expert on fish and that, in their expert opinion, all fish have a tail, fins, scales, and one eye on each side of their head. Well, if you show that expert a flounder, which have eyes on only one side of their head, then that expert would refuse to acknowledge it as a fish. I can’t articulate at this moment why I regard this movie as a black comedy because I haven’t thought much about the precise characteristics of a black comedy are, but I found it frequently funny with humor often derived from death and murder and other anti-social actions, and its ending struck me as ironic, which seem to me as elements of black comedy.
Does anyone remember the 1974 “Rumble in the Jungle” fight between Muhammad Ali and the brutish George Foreman? For the entire fight Foreman pummels a helpless Ali against the ropes with brutal and relentless power. Eight long rounds of punishment. Ali seems both utterly defenseless and weaponless, but still the crowd nurture a grain of hope. Then, near the end of the fight, Ali springs up off the ropes and rains down a barrage of lightning-fast jabs, hooks and uppercuts on the now exhausted Foreman, all in the space of about 5 seconds. Foreman crashes to the mat in a knock out. The crowd, momentarily gobsmacked, go ape. What a fight. What a twist. Satisfying. Gone Girl is mostly the same except after Amy pummels Nick against the ropes for eight rounds, she then just knocks him out. Oh. Anti-climactic. Frustrating.
And every one of the 7 steps could have been developed and/or fixed.
I hated the novel and thought it was poorly written – couldn’t finish it so I can see why the film would be awful as well. It made no sense and seemed like it was narrated by a character who hate men and marriage in general. It was a waste of time reading it.
I’m sorry, but what went wrong with the story is that it was based on a spec script and was screwed up in an attempt to “change it up.” So what made sense and felt natural in the spec script (and had a killer ending that massively emphasized the initial theme), was changed and became just plain confused in the derivative version.