Gone Girl Book vs. movie

The book Gone Girl is a must read. This was my second time reading this book, which is why it was easy for me to decide which novel to pick for this assignment. This book will keep you on your toes. Gone Girl is very manipulative and conniving.

Amy grew up in New York. She was the type of girl every guy wanted and every girl wanted to be. Nick Dunne has lived in Missouri his entire life. Nick then found himself in New York for his writing profession. Amy, who was also a writer, met Nick at a bar and they instantly fell in love with each other. The first two years of marriage were great, "the honeymoon phase". However, when both lost their jobs, they couldn't afford to live in New York anymore and Nick was also informed that his mother's cancer was stage four. They bought a house in North Carthage, Missouri, Nick's hometown and took residence there. Nick and his twin sister, Go, borrowed money from Amy to finance at a local bar they would then own. The move made Nick distant and lackadaisical. He began to become uninterested in Amy, so much, that he became a cheat. He was having an affair with a pretty girl in her early twenties named Andie, who was also his student at the community college he worked at part time. On their fifth wedding anniversary, Amy goes missing. Nick comes back from a shift at the bar to find the door wide open and Amy nowhere to be found. Nick notifies the police. Detective Boney and Detective Gilpin are the lead investigators. The first impression the cops got from Nick wasn't a good one. He seemed calm and not very worried that his wife of five years was missing. Every anniversary, Amy would make an annual treasure hunt for Nick consisting of sweet, heartfelt clues to lead Nick to the next location. As Nick began the treasure hunt as he usually would, he started to swoon over the notes Amy had wrote. He began to feel guilty and was falling back in love with his wife. The detectives find evidence that points towards Nick being the murderer; a false crime scene, mopped up blood in the kitchen, and a huge credit card debt. As bad as it is already looking for Nick, Amy's "best friend", Noelle Hawthorne, announced to the public that Amy had been pregnant. Publicity has turned against Nick and he decides it's time for a lawyer. He hires Tanner Bolt, the best of them all. Tanner advises Nick that they need to change his public image and he needs to come forward about Andie. One night at a bar, a teenage girl comes up to Nick and wants to interview him. He is hesitant, but goes forward with it and it is a hit! Nick seems genuine and he seems that he really wants his wife back home. The public then have hope for Nick, "maybe he isn't a murderer after all." Right before another interview with Sharon Schieber, Andie has come forward about their affair. It's a bombshell. Nick had planned and rehearsed to already come forward about it in the interview. He then apologizes on live TV. Nick nailed the interview, the public is convinced Nick didn't murder his wife, but however the cops are not. The cops arrest Nick and show him Amy's diary, which he claims he had never seen before. In the diary is hundreds of entries telling stories of their failing marriage. Amy also writes that she is scared of Nick, which is why she had tried to buy a gun before she went missing. The last entry in the diary read, "I think this man might actually kill me." Tanner and Nick aren't buying it though, for they had already discussed that Amy was setting up Nick for her own murder. All the clues Amy had left for Nick led to places he had cheated on Amy. Amy had tricked Nick. All the places the clues were was where evidence was found making it look like Nick murdered his own wife. Tanner and Nick attempted to present this to the police, but were unsuccessful. All the while, Amy was well and alive. Living on cash alone and no record of existence. She was a ghost. At the start of it all she wanted Nick sentenced to life, but Nick didn't only convince the public he missed and cared for his wife, he convinced Amy as well. Amy needed to return to her husband, but how? She couldn't just return because everyone would hate her. She calls up an old friend, Desi Collings. Desi has been obsessed with Amy his entire life. The police had even questioned him before Nick was the prime suspect. Desi takes Amy to his secluded lake house and takes care of her. Amy then harms herself into believing she was raped over and over. One night, Desi comes home and Amy drugs him and murders him in his sleep. Amy returns! Nick isn't a murderer anymore and his loving wife has made a glorious return! But who's the crazy one? Nick wants to leave Amy, but Amy tells him she is pregnant. He knew it was impossible, he hadn't touched her since she returned, but Amy inseminated herself with his sperm from the hospital. Amy also had accused him of poisoning her in her diary and she had kept some of the vomit as proof. Nick could never leave. What would possess a person to charge your husband for murder, poison ones self, and actually murder a fellow human being out of spite for their husband?

The movie Gone Girl is a great movie. I think that they picked the actors very well to star in the movie. Although there are some differences, the movie follows the book very closely. The book is a must read and the movie is a must watch. I think Gillian Flynn would be satisfied on the outcome. It keeps you waiting and there is no way you couldn't watch until the end.

When watching the movie, I noticed a couple differences that I felt were important to the story line that Gillian Flynn had written. For one, when Amy and Nick first met they didn't start to date until 8 months later when they randomly saw each other on the street. Second, the movie left out one of Amy's treasure hunt clues. The clue had sent Nick to Hannibal which was where Amy's purse was then found. This wasn't something they should've taken out because it gave the cops more evidence and it moved along the investigation. Third, in the book it stressed over and over again that Amy had a fear of blood. She wrote in her diary and told her friend, Noelle, how blood made her faint and that she could not deal with it. However, she was never really afraid of blood and that makes a big difference because you see how Amy is manipulating. In both the movie and the book, Amy stages her own crime scene. In the book, Amy cuts her forearm with a box cutter, while in the movie she uses an IV. Fourth, the movie cut out the interview he had at the bar. This is very important to the story because it begins to change the public's opinion about Nick. Fifth, Nick has to break up with Andie, but the movie left out the part where Andie bites his face out of anger. Although this doesn't seem that big of a deal, it is because the harsh break up is what makes Andie come forward to the police about her and Nick's affair. Sixth, in the book Amy drugs Desi and murders him in his sleep, but that is not what happens in the movie. The movie is much more violent and graphic. Amy slashes Desi's throat in the middle of intercourse.

I personally like the book better than the movie. I am a reader though, so that might have an influence. Most of the time the book will be better just because it's what came first and what was originally planned to happen, except in some cases. The book expresses the characters feelings a lot more. You gain more insight on how they felt about each other and how insane Amy is throughout the book. It is very hard to figure out who you are rooting for though, Nick or Amy? At times you hate Nick and love Amy and at others you love Nick and hate Amy. It is constant back and forth. Gillian Flynn is an amazing author. It is definitely one of my favorites, maybe even my favorite. I highly suggest to read Gone Girl.

Book Cited: Flynn, Gillian, Gone Girl, New York, New York: Crown Publishers, 2012. Print.

Movie Cited: Director-David Fincher, Performers-Ben Affleck, Rosamund Pike, Distributor-20th Century Fox, 2014. Film.

Credits:

Created with images by Steve A Johnson - "glass jar" • craigdfreeman - "Reader 76 in the Dying Art of Reading series: Title: Gone Girl Author: Gillian Flynn Spotted: London overground at Sydenham #dyingartofreading #reader #reading #books #commuting #commuter #londoner #londonpop #tfl #travel #paperback #ig_recommend #all_s" • Phil Roeder - "Evidence" • tanjila - "untitled image" • rebeccahan - "letter right now white envelope" • ZapTheDingbat - "Reading"

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