i started watching stopped and watched the movie and now im back this movie was insane lol

The end of the movie makes you feel more sorry for Ben Affleck, but the book really lingers on what a horrific situation Nick is in, having to fake every day to keep Amy happy for the sake of the kid... So yeah I can buy that one day he does kill Amy because he feels like there's nothing else to do.

The part where Amy mentions that  child could be an inspiration is also a little bit of a mask off moment for her where she seems to show her true feelings about children, especially after it’s revealed that it was her who didn’t want kids. Her parents used Amy as inspiration for their books, something that she clearly resents them for and something that was would expect to be a reason for her to not have children, which is a really nice touch.

Fincher might be the most consistently great director working today. I love all the movies they mentioned, though I'm a huge fan of The Game as well. I don't think that movie gets enough love.

10 years ago from next month, I saw this movie with a new group of friends starting college, blindly, no trailers but the bus stop poster. Had no idea what I was walking in to, but coming out, this was one of the most haunting and captivating movies I ever seen. The first and last shot sends you so much in shudders.

The Social Network is still my movie of the 2010's.

Hey wanted to send some love as an EFAP viewer, Cap is always one of my favorite guests. He always brings interesting conversations.  Like this breakdown is SO rich with discussion on the craft of film making and writing. It’s some of my favorite content on the internet, and this particular breakdown was fantastic. Love this film as well. So dark and fascinating.

Fincher is so friggin good. I can't believe he still makes bangers in this day and age (yes I agree with MauLer on The Killer)

20:59 I think the fact that Fincher cut his teeth on music videos probably went a long way into his understanding of marketing.  Using the short form storytelling to prop up the artistic heart of something in an industry as image conscious as the music industry probably goes a very long way.

I’m just waiting for Mauler’s The Killer video to drop because I need a more in depth explanation as to why it resonates with him so much. Don’t get me wrong, I really liked the film and (in typical Fincher fashion) it is a technical masterpiece with expert editing, sound design, implementation of cgi, and meticulous storytelling, but the deeper thematic elements and its subtextual comments on human nature might have glided right over me. I’ve seen it 3 times now and I still feel like I’ve only got a surface level understanding of it and it irks me that Mauler places it on such a high pedestal when he hasn’t really explained his reasoning. Hopefully I’ll still be around when he releases the video in the next 5-6 years.

When I finished watching the movie, I had two thoughts. 1) I can't remember when last I hated a fictional character SO much and was so upset for another. 2) The creators very clearly told me with Nick's last monologue that he will kill her. And the funny thing is, he will most likely get away with it pretty easily - no one will want to touch him now after they all fucked up so much looking into him when he was telling them about the old boyfriends all along (all of this from public's perspective, obviously). If he approaches the murder semi-intelligently, he will be OK. And I'd be very happy for him. What a brilliant movie.

She is pretty scary, I dated a girl for 3 years that had majorly undiagnosed BPD, she basically invented half her life leading up to meeting me, and would lie about the smallest things. I literally watched this film with her once, hits super close to home.

1:18:53 The novel has Nick’s father repeatedly mumble about Amy wanting him around, because she subliminally planted the thought in his head. Each time they met, Amy would tell her father-in-law to visit them anytime (out of Nick’s earshot, of course)

I'm so glad you decided to breakdown this movie. This was a good episode.

54:34 Amy’s backstory does help elicit sympathy for her attitude (not so much for her actions). She describes how her mother endured multiple miscarriages (all girls she named *Hope*),
and that the popular, ordinary Amy always felt the need to overcompensate for her parents’ perceived loss

5:37:25  How do you know he isn't going to poison you?  In the book, she already has evidence stashed of Nick's attempt to poison her.  She suggests as much and after several days of rummaging through the house, he finds, in the freezer, a jar of Amy's vomit, which she had warned contained traces of anti-freeze.  She literally drank anti-freeze, and then puked and saved it, in case she wants to frame Nick for trying to poison her.  Nick basically just leaves the jar out in the kitchen like to say "Found it," and her attitude is more or less "Well-played, you got one."  But Nick is pretty sure she has other "in-case of my death" surprises prepared.   Basically, Nick is going to have his hands full with keeping on his toes to placate Amy, covering his back to prevent her from getting more leverage and holds on him, and then taking care of the baby and building a good relationship with it, to be actively working on a perfect murder.  Which it would have to be, because Amy has forced him to go on record as being guilty of all the behaviors that made people suspect him of murdering her, so it's a coin toss whether Amy's premature death will cause people to be hesitant to accuse him twice, or to say "Aha, the guy we thought was a killer has shown his true colors!"

But the thing is, he starts to realize after a while that he is thriving on the new/old High Effort Relationship Maintenance regimen, that he kind of likes the game and likes succeeding at it, even while he knows how fucked up the situation is.

Flynn's thesis in writing the book is making a statement about marriages and relationships and expectations.  So it kind of fits to have Nick & Amy locked in together for life.  It's not a story about justice or solving a mystery, it's about how you deal with sharing your life with another person, and what that really entails.

I always enjoy listening to these guys talk about any movies, but it's so cool to hear them talk about one of my all-time favorites. Fantastic stream. You guys should do some more Fincher movies!

This made me decide to give Gone girl a 10/10

Regarding the Elliots' financial woes, in the novel, they were suggested to be one-trick ponies when it came to writing.  When they didn't have their daughter to crib ideas off, the book series sputtered out.  Also, times changed, and this sort of book series didn't translate over to a new generation of parents & daughters.  Basically, their income stream had dried up and the Amy Gets Married book they were throwing that launch party for, was a last-ditch effort to squeeze some money out of the IP, like a reunion show.  It wasn't even a real story for readers: was more like a collector's item, or a thing you give a bride as a gag at her engagement party.  So they were living off their prior earnings and investments by the time Nick & Amy got married, with no real prospects of further success down the road.

And, of course, the recession hit, which is why Nick & Amy were out of work, which was also why the Elliots' publisher dropped them, and given the utterly unimaginative nature of the Elliots, they were probably heavily invested in blatantly obvious stuff that was hit hard by the recession.  So the reasons why Nick & Amy were struggling were directly tied to the reasons why her parents needed the money back. They were all victims of belt-tightening in an industry that was already in trouble thanks to the internet.  Magazines could afford as much staff and publishers couldn't carry unproductive writers for old times' sake.

I watched this movie on a second date and let me tell you, it's not a date movie lolol.