The meaning of the thriller “Gone Girl”. Does Amy Dunne love Nick?
David Fincher has earned a reputation as a cult director for films in which a multifaceted plot, presented to the audience as abstract pieces of a puzzle, is assembled into a single construct in the final. In this regard, the thriller “Gone Girl” was no exception, which constantly juggles the sympathies and antipathies of the audience, forcing them to love and empathize with the main protagonists of the film in turn.
With all the versatility and dynamism of the script, “Gone girl” abruptly cuts off the branching plot and in the finale returns the heroes to their starting point, as if resetting the 2 and a half hours spent on the film. It is because of this technique that a thriller may seem incomplete, incomprehensible, or even completely meaningless. But, like all of Fincher’s great creations, Gone Girl reveals several social themes at once that will only be noticeable upon a thoughtful viewing of the film. In this, some parallels can be drawn with the film “The Girl on the Train” .
The Difficulties of Marriage
Fincher treats the theme of love with particular sophistication and in many of his films shows its destructive effect on a person: in the film Seven, the protagonist’s wife dies at the hands of a maniac, in Fight Club, the protagonist loves and hates Marla at the same time, and the Social Network »Illustrates the loneliness and heartache that accompanies attempts to find a loved one. In the case of Gone Girl, Fincher touched on the most complex topic of gender relations – marriage.
Reciprocity is an integral part of a relationship. In the relationship between Amy and Nick: the first satisfies his need for a strong man, and Nick gets a dose of pleasure from communicating with a beautiful and many times more intelligent woman than he is.
But mutual sympathy alone is not enough for the continuation of a married marriage, since passion must remain, which, like fire, keeps the marriage from freezing completely. Over time, it becomes more difficult to maintain passion in a relationship, and couples resort to the “passion paradox”. This phenomenon was derived by psychologists and consists in attraction to a partner who behaves outside the box and constantly surprises with his actions. This is why it is widely believed that good girls love bad boys.
Constant squabbles and the desire to please each other are what kept people as different as Nick and Amy together. At the beginning of the film, we see that Amy was the weakest link in the relationship when she talks about her misfortunes, how she tried to meet Nick’s requirements, endured betrayal and constant indifference from her husband. But after his disappearance, Nick gets a supporting role in marriage: all his intolerance towards his wife has led to the fact that he is accused of incest, the murder of his wife, and soon they want to subject him to the death penalty.
In an attempt to control the “paradox of passion”, members of a married couple try to become leaders in the relationship, to be one step ahead of their beloved, thereby generating additional adrenaline and a thirst to be with their partner. Very indicative in this regard is the scene when Nick tries to justify his reputation and confesses to infidelity, speaks on television about how much he loves her and asks his wife to return. Public opinion is radically changing, and now Nick is “on horseback” again, now the residents of the city sympathize with him, he is becoming a favorite of the public, and the death penalty may not take place.
Nick is again one step ahead of Amy, which piques her interest in her husband. The “paradox of passion” begins to operate again, which is why such a diligent, rich and calm boyfriend Desi Collings completely ceases to interest Amy. She sees in him only an additional springboard to regain her superiority in married life with Nick.
For all the pain that spouses inflict on each other, it should be noted that they are both extremely unhappy. After all, even Nick, who took his wife’s return with great reluctance and fear, agrees with her words: “You liked yourself better when you met my requirements.”
Impact of mass media on public opinion
Another topic raised by the director in the film is the influence of the media on public opinion. Fincher had already touched on this problem at Fight Club, when Tyler Durden’s underground organization tried to destroy the institutions that teach people how to live, how to dress, how to think. In “Gone Girl” there is no attempt to destroy media sources, but only shows the consequences that they have on our lives.
In the hands of Emmy, television and the Internet have become sources of revenge, a way to prove to the world that they are right and destroy Nick’s life. The rigged evidence against her husband, the good reputation of “Super Amy”, and already sensation-hungry journalists and a television program, even before the start of the trial, declare Nick to be a murderer and pervert who sleeps with his sister.
Today people are not interested in the truth, first of all, the show is important for them, in which the loser can easily lose his life.
Conclusion on the meaning of the film
“Gone Girl” is a work in which, in an exaggerated form, it is shown how difficult a marriage can be and what people are capable of in order to preserve love. Of course, it is very easy to accuse Amy of psychopathic inclinations and inadequacy, but not everything is so simple, she was just playing her own “game”. Each of us plays these games: we try to become better in the eyes of other people, constantly modify our behavior, adjust to the demands of the public.
So with Amy, she is not a “Monster”. To convict her of inadequacy would be the simplest solution. Nick’s wife tried to meet the high expectations of her parents and husband. Amy is not crazy, on the contrary, trying to compete with the image of “Super Amy” she tried to keep her sanity and self-esteem. She needs to be the best, that’s how she was raised.
According to the French psychoanalyst Jacques Lacan: “Fear a real woman, she will go to the end.” Amy was just such a woman, it was her that weak-willed Nick wanted to see next to him. But since any relationship is an exchange, you need to match the level of your partner and choose your life partner more carefully. If you indulge in illusions and choose a person who is many times stronger as a partner, you can lose in the “paradox of passion” and become a hostage to marriage.
