Well, without getting too in depth (I'm gonna record a podcast episode on it and I don't wanna blow my load now), it's related to misogyny and mistrust of women, especially when it comes to sexual assault. If I say anything more, it will become spoilery, so...
Went to watch this tonight. I enjoy Fincher's storytelling quirks, and the measured, steady pace of (most of) the film. I also found myself enjoying every moment Rosamund Pike was on camera, especially the moments she was just beginning to veer towards the unhinged. I must confess to being drawn to films that dig into the darker/violent underpinnings of female characters (May, Stoker, The Piano Teacher, etc). I thought the film had some tone problems-- like it squandered several opportunities for farcical satire (it kind of flirted with being a pitch-black comedy for a while but never committed). I also couldn't help but chuckle at the crassness of lines like Affleck's hammy "come back, Amy, I dare you". I also felt some unease as to the implications of putting out a film like this in a time when victims of sexual abuse-- men and women, but especially women-- are harassed and shamed into silence. Like whose narrative does this further? What will this reinforce? I'm not one to dwell on the deontological ethics of filmmaking, but it was in the back of my mind throughout. All in all, though, I was on board.
However, near the end of the movie (I think it was the end-- the thing just kept going and going), I turned to find my girlfriend bawling. We walked out of the theater. She's gone through some shit, and she's lived with it for years. She felt shamed, mocked, made a caricature of by this film. She was livid and crestfallen. The film stirred something in her that, honestly, goes beyond my ability to comprehend. I just listened over coffee. Then we went home. Honestly, I don't really care to find out how it ends.
Anders wrote:I do not have a «neoliberal assessment of geopolitics», so please stop writing that I do.
Like whose narrative does this further? What will this reinforce? I'm not one to dwell on the deontological ethics of filmmaking, but it was in the back of my mind throughout. All in all, though, I was on board.
However, near the end of the movie (I think it was the end-- the thing just kept going and going), I turned to find my girlfriend bawling. We walked out of the theater. She's gone through some shit, and she's lived with it for years. She felt shamed, mocked, made a caricature of by this film. She was livid and crestfallen. The film stirred something in her that, honestly, goes beyond my ability to comprehend. I just listened over coffee. Then we went home. Honestly, I don't really care to find out how it ends.
That is EXACTLY why I hate this movie. My wife and I were both just fucking PISSED when it ended. Like you said: whose narrative does this further? What is this perpetuating?
I think one of my favorite things I've heard anyone say about this movie is this from a RateYourMusic.com user: "in the year of the vital awareness represented by #yesallwomen it basically feels like a #yesallmen statement."
Informant. Not bad i guess. Your opinion on who is telling the truth will likely depend on whether you root for team Red or Blue. Personally, all of them seem fairly stupid. Interesting character at least.
BurtReynolds wrote:Now I gotta see this. Its got the moralists of RM in a shitfit.
Come on. You're being an idiot if you interpret my post as having a shitfit. I described what I liked about the film, what my reservations were, and then my partner's reaction.
Anders wrote:I do not have a «neoliberal assessment of geopolitics», so please stop writing that I do.
Well, without getting too in depth (I'm gonna record a podcast episode on it and I don't wanna blow my load now), it's related to misogyny and mistrust of women, especially when it comes to sexual assault. If I say anything more, it will become spoilery, so...
There is a lot of moral gray area that modern films seem overly eager to wade into, sometimes for authenticity and sometimes for shock value, that I find irresponsible. Things such as the glorification of gang culture or Eli Roth-style glamorized extreme violence, so though I don't understand the context here, I totally get how movies could cause such a reaction.
Did you ever see "Upstream Color"? Although there is little moralizing that needs to be done about it, I feel like that one would make for an awesome podcast just given the amount of time my wife and spent discussing it afterwards.
LoathedVermin72 wrote:I can barely even put into words how much I fucking HATED Gone Girl. One of the most deplorable, disgusting, irresponsible pieces of garbage I've seen in a while.
Hey, it's not nice to talk about Affleck's Junk™ like that.
Last edited by ABNorman on Tue October 07, 2014 10:53 am, edited 1 time in total.
Like whose narrative does this further? What will this reinforce? I'm not one to dwell on the deontological ethics of filmmaking, but it was in the back of my mind throughout. All in all, though, I was on board.
However, near the end of the movie (I think it was the end-- the thing just kept going and going), I turned to find my girlfriend bawling. We walked out of the theater. She's gone through some shit, and she's lived with it for years. She felt shamed, mocked, made a caricature of by this film. She was livid and crestfallen. The film stirred something in her that, honestly, goes beyond my ability to comprehend. I just listened over coffee. Then we went home. Honestly, I don't really care to find out how it ends.
That is EXACTLY why I hate this movie. My wife and I were both just fucking PISSED when it ended. Like you said: whose narrative does this further? What is this perpetuating?
I think one of my favorite things I've heard anyone say about this movie is this from a RateYourMusic.com user: "in the year of the vital awareness represented by #yesallwomen it basically feels like a #yesallmen statement."
Again, haven't seen the film, but I have read the book. And if the movie feels like a #yesallmen statement, then Fincher (and screenwriter/bookwriter Flynn) missed. The book read much more like a #notoallpeople story.
I have issues with the book. In fact, I don't think it's a very good book. And some of the points/issues it goes into are fantastic, but misplaced. But I can't imagine coming away from this story
Well, without getting too in depth (I'm gonna record a podcast episode on it and I don't wanna blow my load now), it's related to misogyny and mistrust of women, especially when it comes to sexual assault. If I say anything more, it will become spoilery, so...
Went to watch this tonight. I enjoy Fincher's storytelling quirks, and the measured, steady pace of (most of) the film. I also found myself enjoying every moment Rosamund Pike was on camera, especially the moments she was just beginning to veer towards the unhinged. I must confess to being drawn to films that dig into the darker/violent underpinnings of female characters (May, Stoker, The Piano Teacher, etc). I thought the film had some tone problems-- like it squandered several opportunities for farcical satire (it kind of flirted with being a pitch-black comedy for a while but never committed). I also couldn't help but chuckle at the crassness of lines like Affleck's hammy "come back, Amy, I dare you". I also felt some unease as to the implications of putting out a film like this in a time when victims of sexual abuse-- men and women, but especially women-- are harassed and shamed into silence. Like whose narrative does this further? What will this reinforce? I'm not one to dwell on the deontological ethics of filmmaking, but it was in the back of my mind throughout. All in all, though, I was on board.
However, near the end of the movie (I think it was the end-- the thing just kept going and going), I turned to find my girlfriend bawling. We walked out of the theater. She's gone through some shit, and she's lived with it for years. She felt shamed, mocked, made a caricature of by this film. She was livid and crestfallen. The film stirred something in her that, honestly, goes beyond my ability to comprehend. I just listened over coffee. Then we went home. Honestly, I don't really care to find out how it ends.
It basically comes down to watching poor schlub Ben Affleck and poor schlub Scoot McNairy and poor schlub Neil Patrick Harris get their lives destroyed by stone-cold-evil "crazy bitch" Rosamund Pike.
Christ. He just made a movie where every male character was either a vicious rapist, serial killer (of women), or at best, an adulterer and womanizer. Go watch that one if you demand movies conform to your list of approved narratives. Or shove your bullshit notions of artist's responsibility in a sack and have a little faith in humanity's ability to separate fact from fiction.
Ugh, the most loathsome form of art criticism... You need to be offended.
It basically comes down to watching poor schlub Ben Affleck and poor schlub Scoot McNairy and poor schlub Neil Patrick Harris get their lives destroyed by stone-cold-evil "crazy bitch" Rosamund Pike.
