Gone Girl

 
Director: David Fincher
Starring: Ben Affleck, Rosamund Pike, Neil Patrick Harris, Tyler Perry, Carrie Coon, Kim Dickens, Patrick Fugit, Casey Wilson, Missi Pyle, Sela Ward, Emily Ratajkowski, Lisa Banes, David Clennon, Scoot McNairy, Boyd Holbrook, Lola Kirke
Running Time: 145 min.
Rating: R

★★★★ (out of ★★★★) 

There's a certain amount of baggage that comes with arriving to a movie's party late. And while lateness, by today's standards, constitutes only about a week or two, it takes mere minutes for reactions to seep out and spoilers to leak. It seems in only a matter of hours, a movie's critical and commercial prospects are already written. A hardcover of Gillian Flynn's Gone Girl sits on my bookshelf still unopened, with the plan always being to dive in only after I've seen the film. But trying to go in cold is a pointless exercise, as it wasn't long before I accidentally found out more than I wanted to know. And that's tricky, because with this film, ANYTHING is more than you want to know. But it's not because it's some twisty thriller that heavily relies on plot, as could have been with a director other than David Fincher behind the controls.

There are twists and turns in this for sure, but it never feels like it's at the service of something other than exploring the psyches and motivations of these characters, as well as the disturbing, sickening corrosion of outwardly normal relationships. It's easy seeing how such a dark movie has managed to strike this universal chord, but explaining how without spoiling it becomes trickier. What it will do is likely scare anyone in a committed relationship, and maybe even those who aren't .

On the morning of his fifth wedding anniversary, Missouri bar owner Nick Dunne (Ben Affleck) returns home to find his wife, Amy (Rosamund Pike) missing. Signs of a struggle and blood at the scene shift a potential missing person case to a murder investigation with Detective Rhonda Boney (Kim Dickens) Officer James Gilpin (Patrick Fugit) honing in on Nick as their primary suspect. And apparently for good reason. Interspersed  flashbacks and voiceovers from Amy's diary reveal how they first met and became engaged in New York. He, a laid back, corn fed mid westerner. She, an aloof, Type A city girl whose wealthy parents (Lisa Banes and David Clennon) created a popular "Amazing Amy" book series based on her life, or at least their rose-colored version of it.

We slowly discover why they returned to his Missouri hometown and what eventually caused the deterioration of their marriage. With evidence mounting and Nick crumbling under intense media scrutiny, he's rapidly losing the support of everyone but his twin sister Margo (Carrie Coon), signaling it just might be time for him to lawyer up. All that can be safely said is that Amy's disappearance and potential murder isn't the mystery it appears to be.

"Amazing" isn't likely to be the first adjective anyone besides Nick would use in describing the ice cold Amy, as it's difficult to decipher what he initially saw in her that went beyond looks and a somewhat alluring, sophisticated presence. For him, it was enough. Then again, we're given the impression she never really saw it in herself either, always failing to measure up to the idealized fictional book character her parents created and profited from. This could be why something seems really off with this woman right off the bat, making her almost instantly unlikable and aligning our sympathies with him before even knowing the full details of their relationship. Early flashbacks establish in our minds he's too nice a guy for her and will probably be eaten alive. Until we find out he's no boy scout himself, wrestling with his own issues after they've tie the knot. Our allegiances shift back and forth, with only Amy's diary as our guide post, despite her reliability always being in doubt.

That Amy's played by English actress Rosamund Pike is important in so far that no one seems to have any idea who she is, even with a handful of major screen credits to her name over a decade-long career. I'd have trouble naming a single one of them, which is exactly the point. There's a blankness and anonymity to her that Fincher uses to his advantage, even going so far as to claim in interviews it's one of the primary reasons he cast her. We know literally nothing about the actress, which lets no preconceived notions in, allowing Flynn's story to be projected on a clean slate.

If ever there was a case where a big name actress wouldn't work it's here since objectivity (or at least the illusion of it) needs to be retained. It's a casting choice in the vain of mysterious blondes like Grace Kelly or Kim Novak that would make Hitchcock proud, but Pike does the rest of the work, which is more than we imagine it will be when the film begins. And what is "amazing" about Amy is how much life the actress breaths into the character with often only her eyes. Regardless of anyone's familiarity with Pike, this does at least feel like we're seeing her on screen for the first time, with Fincher using that anonymity as a weapon to club unsuspecting audiences.

How Affleck's image and persona is subverted and twisted is an even better example of how Fincher (much like Kubrick before him) uses his actors, transforming their real or perceived weaknesses into strengths that fit the story. Correctly considered a superior director than actor now, Affleck the performer is at his best when playing against his pumped up superstar persona and inhabiting desperate characters whose backs are against the wall. Seemingly overnight, Nick becomes an infamous celebrity and proves as ill equipped at it as anyone else would be in his situation. Unfortunately in his case, this behavior makes him comes across as a guilty sociopath when filtered and magnified through the media's glaring lenses.

Watching Affleck squirm, panic and appear dumbfounded at each new development that further stacks the deck against Nick becomes as exciting as watching a sports event in which you haven't a clue of the outcome. At times it's even darkly hilarious watching this guy's reactions and comparing it to how you think someone in his shoes would behave. It's understandable the police immediately suspect him, and use his apparent cooperation as a means of manipulation. Kim Dickens is perfect as the cop who's perfectly logical and professional. She's really just doing her job, only exceptionally well.    

The worst thing about Neil Patrick Harris' performance as Amy's ex-boyfriend Desi is that I can't address it, as revealing anything would be a spoiler. What can be addressed is that his portion of the film is the strongest and most suspenseful, which is really saying something. His total screen time probably doesn't exceed any more than 10 minutes, but those curious to see how NPH would fare in a seriously dramatic role guided by a top tier filmmaker should prepare to be blown away. Consider this restitution for the actor having to suffer through the final season of How I Met Your Mother and a thrill for viewers getting to see him earn an opportunity he's deserved for a long time. And he absolutely nails it.

The eclectic casting even extends to Tyler Perry as high powered defense attorney Tanner Bolt. Yes, that Tyler Perry. Again a small role, but he's superb in it, proving to be the eyes and ears of the audience sitting in disbelief and shock at what's unfolding. In the midst of  this craziness, he's our voice of reason. Toward the end of the film he has a hilarious line that's just classic and will surely be quoted for years to come because of how perfectly it summarizes Nick's mess.

This third collaboration between Fincher and composers Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross is by far their most unusual in that there's a lot lurking beneath the surface, more specifically these weird, unnerving electronic sounds that fade into the background only to kick up again and accelerate during pivotal scenes, ratcheting up the suspense. It works, creating a nearly constant sense of impending doom in even the quietest moments. The tense atmosphere extends not only to the story and music, but its look as cinematographer Jeff Croneweth manages to makes even daytime scenes feel and appear as if they're occurring in the dead of night. You can almost think of Gone Girl as the twisted cousin of Zodiac and The Game, with the former's theme of obsession meeting the latter's clues and puzzles that similarly constitute the "game" destroying Nick's life.

The last act makes you wonder how something so sadistic could still be this much fun to watch without compromising any of the seriousness. This wasn't necessarily going to be a slam dunk for Fincher, since his adaptation of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, also based on a best selling fictional crime novel, was a rare case of him being dragged down by the material. But this is nothing of the sort, instead returning the director to top form. It's impossible to know how much of the depth was fine-tuned by him and what originated from Flynn's screenplay, but the two prove to be a formidable creative alliance just the same.

There comes a point where it seems the narrative has written itself into a corner, with seemingly only one way out. "They wouldn't do THAT? Would they?" It's an ending that justifiably leaves you talking and thinking. Other directors would have just let the credits roll, but Fincher's smart enough to hang around a while and let the characters have that conversation themselves, and rub our noses in the aftermath. Just the idea that we never truly know who we're with and reveal only the parts of ourselves we want is frightening enough, but this ratchets it up to the most extreme level. After watching it, you'll come away contemplating a whole new meaning of being "trapped" in a marriage. 
            

We Bought a Zoo

Director: Cameron Crowe
Starring: Matt Damon, Scarlett Johansson, Thomas Haden Church, Patrick Fugit, Colin Ford, Elle Fanning, Angus Macfadyen, Maggie Elizabeth Jones, John Michael Higgins, Peter Riegert, Carla Gallo
Running Time: 124 min.
Rating: PG

★★★ (out of ★★★★)

We Bought a Zoo is the kind of movie you like because you'd almost feel guilty not liking it. Or at least I would. While that may not exactly seem like the most glowing of recommendations, it actually is. Cameron Crowe just might be the only filmmaker capable of doing this unironically and succeeding. It's a gift. Precocious kids. Cute animals. A villain who would be twirling a mustache if he had one. And of course Tom Petty, Bob Dylan, Cat Stevens and Neil Young are thrown onto the soundtrack for no reason other than that Crowe loves them. Every beat in the plot is predictable, there aren't any surprises to be found, and yet, it all works. His movies have this magical quality of transcending any kind of assembly line approach to film criticism. With Crowe, the whole always ends up being greater than the sum of its parts and when it's over all you remember is the whole. It's tempting to resent him for it, but you can't. He just gets you every time.

This effort marks his first full-length feature return after going on a six-year hiatus following the release of the widely reviled Elizabethtown. He had nothing to apologize for with that. If it was a colossal mistake, at least it's one only he could have the talent to make and deserves respect for having the guts to put himself out there in such an embarrassingly personal and sentimental way. Upon recently re-watching it, I still say the first 10 minutes of that movie mark what maybe his finest hour, with the rest not being too bad either. But it's strangely fitting how it's plot (particularly that opening) foretold the public's reaction to it. Adapted from Benjamin Mee's 2008 memoir, We Bought a Zoo is as equally sentimental and lacking in cynicism. Not as gloriously messy or personal as that previous effort, it's certainly slighter and more conventional, which could stem from the fact that Crowe only co-wrote the screenplay.  Matt Damon plays Benjamin, a struggling journalist still grieving the recent loss of his wife when he packs up 7-year-old Rosie (an adorable Maggie Elizabeth Jones) and moody teen son Dylan (Colin Ford) in an effort to start fresh in a new home. That home is located on the grounds of the dilapidated Rosemoor Animal Park and after ignoring his own initial hesitation and warnings from older brother Duncan (Thomas Haden Church), Benjamin caves and buys the zoo, much to Rosie's delight and Dylan's resentment. With no experience he must rely on the close-knit staff lead by head zookeeper Kelly Foster (Scarlett Johansson) to get the park up to code in time for re-opening, even as he struggles to keep his family together in the wake of his wife's passing and come to terms with their new life. 

No one will ever accuse this film of being unpredictable, which is fine since it's not really supposed to be. What Crowe always excels at is once again on display, manufacturing a sense of community onscreen with the characters, so in that respect it's easy to see why he gravitated toward this material. It probably has the least amount of depth of anything he's tackled and in a way that's a relief because with the bar set so low we find out what he can do with a story that in any other filmmaker's hands would have seemed like pure manipulative schmaltz. Just that very term implies dishonesty and whatever accusations have been hurled at Crowe from his critics, even they'd admit that label won't stick. He's too sincere for that.

From fade in we know there's a pretty good chance this zoo, its animals and its employees will change he and his kids' lives. Benjamin and Kelly will probably fall for each other. He and son Dylan will have a screaming match over his mother's death. Dylan will crush hard over Kelly's home-schooled niece Lily (Elle Fanning). The nasty zoo inspector ( a suitably slimy John Michael Higgins) will threaten to shut them down. They'll be a final act crisis. No viewer could doubt for a second that the zoo won't be ready on opening day. None of these can even be considered spoilers. And I was still absorbed every step of the way, due mostly to Matt Damon's surprisingly moving performance. Pudgy and disheveled, he strangely resembles Philip Seymour Hoffman in appearance while giving off a normal, every guy vibe that recalls '90's era Tom Hanks. There's this huge scene involving a sick tiger and it's almost scary how good he is in it, subtly suggesting things the script is trying to hit us over the head with. He's handed some pretty sappy stuff, but he somehow makes it ring completely true with his earnestness. And isn't it about time to acknowledge few actor have come as far or improved as much in the past decade as he has? With wildly varied performances of late in the Bourne franchise, The Informant!, True Grit, Hereafter and Contagion and good case could be made he's one of the best working right now.

When casting the role of a zookeeper, Scarlett Johansson doesn't exactly jump out at you as an inspired choice, but who would have guessed that she should have? Leave it up to Crowe to finally come with the idea of casting her as someone other than the sexpot. Watching this it hit me what the problem's been with her career: She's never plays a regular person. Here she plays kind of a nerd and she's actually really good at it. It isn't a particularly deep supporting part but it's a different one for her and exactly the kind she should start taking more often. It's also one of Crowe's more mature and intellectually developed female characters, providing a respite from the "Manic Pixie Dream Girl" type that usually exists in his universe to rescue the male protagonist.

A scene-stealing Thomas Haden Church gets a few good zingers in as Benjamin's droll, skeptical brother, despite not getting nearly enough screen time and leaving me wondering when someone will let him headline his own movie.The rest of the cast also gets the job done, as Elle Fanning plays Lily as a long ways off from the wise-beyond-her-years teen she portrayed in Super 8. She supposedly based her performance as a socially awkward, immature farm girl on Taylor Swift, an unintentionally hilarious detail that also makes entirely too much sense. Angus MacFadyen as the crazed, bearded zoo carpenter and Almost Famous' Patrick Fugit as some employee with a pet monkey are mostly relegated to the sidelines but flesh out the cast nicely enough. In the case of Fugit, you can't help but feel disappointed that this marks his long overdue reunion with Crowe since he isn't given much of anything to do at all.

Like any other of his films, Crowe's soundtrack is jam-packed with those aforementioned classic rock favorites as well as a few newer songs that sound like classic rock favorites. In this outing more than any other except Elizabethtown, the musical selections really calls attention to itself. I'm still trying to figure out whether that's good or bad, but have settled on mostly good since it doesn't necessarily harm the film any and for my money no writer/director has better taste in music.  The whimsical score composed by Jonsi fits the tone even better, or at least as well as some of Crowe's most successful collaborations with ex-wife Nancy Wilson, who's surprisingly not missed too much here.

While this seems to be one of the more dispensable Crowe efforts, there's still enough behind it that it co-exists nicely with the other work in his filmography, proving to an extent that he hasn't lost a step.  The commercials and trailers have sold We Bought a Zoo as a sappy family film and while that isn't necessarily untrue, it's also decidedly more adult than expected, intelligently dealing with family, love and loss in a way that doesn't feel too manipulative or insulting. Crowe's always been an expert at pulling audience's emotional strings, but at least he has enough guts and integrity to unapologetically tell us to our faces that he's doing it.

'07 Leftovers-Wristcutters: A Love Story

Director: Goran Dukic
Starring: Patrick Fugit, Shannyn Sossamon, Tom Waits, Shea Whigham, Leslie Bibb, Will Arnett
Running Time: 91 min.
Rating: R

***1/2 (out of ****)

Everyone has their dream pairing of actors they’d like to see star in a movie together. For some it may have been De Niro and Pacino finally sharing the screen (albeit for one scene) in Heat. Maybe it was Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet in Titanic. Or maybe it was a dream pairing that looked great on paper but didn’t exactly pan out the way you’d hoped, kind of like Warren Beatty and Dustin Hoffman in Ishtar. My choice is very different from others and would probably have most movie fans scratching their heads. It’s Patrick Fugit and Shannyn Sossomon

It might seem weird to you but to me it makes perfect sense because both gave “should have been nominated” performances in two favorite of my favorite films this decade (Almost Famous and The Rules of Attraction). I do realize there are technically “better” actors out there who have yet to appear together in a film but none of them gave performances I felt reached into my soul and spoke to me personally like those two did. In other words, there are no two actors I like or want to see succeed more than them. It’s a safe bet that had different actors been cast in those roles the films would not only not occupy the exclusive place for me they do, but I wouldn’t be reviewing films at all right now. And that’s why I was terrified to see Wristcutters: A Love Story when it was released last year. Going in I had two fears:

1. My expectations would be so high that I’d just end up being disappointed with whatever shows up on screen. You know the feeling: When how it plays in your head is so good you just don’t want to mess with it.

2. My love for these two actors would completely cloud my objectivity.

The first scenario would be awful, but thinking it over the second might not be too bad. After all, who can be objective about something as personal as film? My recent blog on the fantasy casting of The Dark Night sequel in which I picked Sossoman out of some really tough competition to play Catwoman reminded me and finally motivated me to check this movie out. And after watching it I felt even more secure in my choice of her for the role, if that’s possible.
Really, all I cared about going into this were whether the two gave great performances and were as awesome on screen together as I’d imagined they’d be, even if the movie ended up sucking. They were, which was so thrilling for me, but the film also delivered in a big way. At times it does drown itself a little too much in quirky indie sensibility but it’s a fascinating, original work that was probably just an edit or two away from absolute greatness. It covers a topic that’s so important but approaches it in a way we’ve never seen before and with very little sentimentality. I was moved in a way I didn’t expect, especially in the final scene, which is a clinic on how to end a movie effectively.

I always found it disturbing that when someone commits suicide the reaction (whether they knew the person or not) always seems to be: “They were SELFISH.” I always thought that was a really disgusting thing to say. Someone who would go so far as to take their own life must have been feeling emotional pain we couldn’t even begin to understand and they’re calling them names and making moral judgments on what they did. Worse yet, the statement focuses on the living and the burden they bare rather than the memory of the actual victim. I kind of see the twisted logic behind the remark but a part of me thinks it’s just a way of absolving themselves of responsibility. The comment reveals more about their selfishness than that of the person who probably deserves better than to be remembered for a single act out of a life. Wristcutters: A Love Story is the first film dealing with this topic to understand that and know that those who commit suicide deserve compassion not judgment.

For those who are alive “life goes on” but so what? It doesn’t for people who are dead. And let’s be honest, if we gave anyone free rein to move on without us they won’t waste any time. They’ll re-marry. Make new friends. It’s only human nature. I know a woman who suffered an unimaginable tragedy a few years ago and still hasn’t been able to move on with her life. Of course this isn’t healthy and is self destructive, but a part of me respects that she refuses to let go, as awful as that sounds. And I’d imagine it isn’t easy to with people in your face telling you they “understand” what you’re going through. We all wonder if there’s such a thing as the “right way” to react to someone’s death and how others would react to ours.

These questions and many more seem to be on the mind of Zia (Fugit) when he cleans his room, then goes into the bathroom to slit his wrists in the opening scene of Wristcutters He just broke up with his girlfriend Desiree (Leslie Bibb) and as far as he’s concerned his life is over so may as well just finish the job. He suspects that after a brief period of grieving she’ll just move on to someone else and forget about him and we suspect he’s probably right. The afterlife he finds himself in is so bad because it’s exactly like the world we live in now, just a little worse because it’s more boring. He gets a job at Kamikazee pizza and meets others stuck in this suicide purgatory like Russian rocker Eugene (Shea Whigham) who intentionally electrocuted himself on stage.

When Zia gets wind that Desiree also killed herself he and Eugene embark on a road trip to find her when they pick up a beautiful hitchhiker Mikal (Sossamon) who’s looking to talk to the “People In Charge” about getting out. She insists she didn’t commit suicide and is in this world by mistake. One of the more engaging aspects of the film is seeing the flashbacks of how the people Zia meets along his journey killed themselves. It nicely conveys the idea that everyone has a different story and of course we do eventually find out what Mikal (a name that would be funnier if it were actually spelled “McCall”) means when she says she doesn’t deserve to be there. Flashbacks are tricky but every one does count for something here and makes us feel closer to the situation.

Most depictions of the afterlife on film are hyper-realized like the worlds of Defending Your Life or What Dreams May Come. This takes a completely different and original approach by making the after life drab, boring and washed out looking. Everyone even kind of looks dead and pale, arriving in a state likely similar to when they entered the morgue.

There are intentional echoes of The Wizard of Oz with Zia and Mikal’s quest to complete themselves and if that comparison should be made then the “Wizard” is a bizarre cult leader named Kneller (the film is based on Etgar Keret’s 1998 short story, “Kneller’s Happy Campers”) played by legendary singer/songwriter Tom Waits, who I bet probably did really want to kill himself after hearing Scarlett Johansson’s recent covers of his songs. It’s one of those weird supporting roles that if Waits turned down it probably would have went to either Bob Dylan or Keith Richards. Take your pick. Waits is Waits and he gives an appropriately loony performance. There’s also a cameo appearance by Will Arnett as an even weirder cult leader feuding with him and I wouldn’t even know whether to classify his work in this as comedic or dramatic. Whatever you call it, fans of his won’t be disappointed that’s for sure.

The screenplay is smart enough to know that sometimes what you wished to find all along isn’t exactly what you thought it was cracked up to be. That’s very true for both Zia and Mikal’s quests. The weak acting link in the film is Bibb who in her flashback scenes doesn’t convey why Zia would want to travel the ends of this world to be with her. Although, that may be the point. Whenever a film features the sub-title “A Love Story” certain expectations are bound to accompany it, most of which are negative. This is very much is a love story but not the sappy, sentimental kind but more of a real one that begins as a reluctant friendship between two people who have nowhere else to turn. I knew there’d be little chance Fugit and Sossamon would do anything less than superb work and I was right but I had my doubts just how much chemistry they’d have together. That was the part that really surprised me.

I know I’ve ranted and raved enough already how much I love Sossamon but I’ll do it some more because she just has such a natural, effortless presence onscreen and never forces it. I think I could watch her read the phone book for 2 hours. She’s met her match in Fugit, who plays this character not unlike William Miller in Almost Famous. Both William and Zia are innocents that come of age in strange worlds they know nothing about and end up understanding themselves better because of it.
This is the first film I’ve seen Fugit in since Almost Famous 8 years ago and he may look older but all that talent didn’t go anywhere. I’m glad he’s been showing up in more films lately and was even heavily rumored at one point earlier in the year to be replacing Tobey Maguire in the next Spider-Man film. I would much rather see him continue to do more character driven work like this though. Not to be outdone, Shea Whigham provides invaluable comic relief as the Russian rocker. His character manages to feel like more than just a third wheel.

About a minute before the closing credits I had a feeling how the film would end but doubted filmmaker Goran Dukic would have the guts to go through with it. He did. Many will probably view it as a manipulative or a cop-out but I found it brave. He wasn’t afraid to give the story the closure and finish it needed at whatever cost. When a film is already dealing with the less than cheery topic of suicide why would you want see characters who you’ve grow to like and care about suffer just uphold the imaginary “rules” of the story? I can probably name only about 20 movies I’ve ever seen that ended at the EXACT moment they should. Most directors don’t know when to get out and just linger pointlessly for minutes longer than is necessary in the final moments. Here you can almost hear the book closing on the story and it’s a beautiful moment. There was also a neat twist I didn’t see coming.

I’ve already listed my best films of 2007 but had I seen this earlier it probably would have just missed the top 10, which makes me wonder what else of great value I could have missed from last year. I like it when movies leave you talking about important issues for hours and this one definitely does that. Wristcutters may not be perfect, but it’s close enough for me. And now I can say two of my favorite actors finally have a film that binds them.