by Robert Bouffard, Editor
I love to engage with media that challenges my beliefs. It makes me think deeply when a film or television show presents themes or characters who are opposed to my worldview. I like to understand where other people are coming from. Understanding and engaging others’ viewpoints are essential to forming your own.
I’ve come to this conclusion largely because I grew up in an atmosphere that discouraged this oppositional engagement. The suggested way of handling this was to shelter your mind and insist that you were right, which is counterproductive.
Nowadays, I get excited when I watch a movie and love it, only to realize it has an oppositional viewpoint to another movie I love. It just serves to initiate the sort of debate and cultivation of thought that I enjoy so much. These instances show me that contrasting ideas can coexist and each thrive, which is the kind of world I strive for.
So join me as I examine two movies that send opposite messages, but which I still love just the same.
Both movies that I have chosen here explore a number of different themes. But I’m boiling them each down to how they deal with one idea in particular: marriage and relationships.
For this entry in the On The Contrary series, I’ve chosen two films from auteur filmmakers — Stanley Kubrick and David Fincher — who are known to craft their films with precision until they are exactly the way they want them to be. And the films I’ve chosen are perfect examples of why this style of filmmaking works for these directors. The first time I saw each movie, I thought it was very good. But upon rewatching of both, I think they are masterpieces and among the best of each director’s respective filmography. The movies are Gone Girl and Eyes Wide Shut.
I’ve been a Fincher fan for a while now. I currently have The Social Network as my 14th favorite film of all time and I could be in the mood for any one of his other movies other than Benjamin Button or Mank at just about any time. But even though I liked and appreciated Gone Girl after watching it when it first came out, I’d never gone back to revisit it until recently. It immediately rose in my estimation. It is meticulously plotted, gripping from start to finish, and has some very poignant themes about the give and take of a relationship.
Like just about any Fincher movie, Gone Girl has a dark tone. Based on the novel by Gillian Flynn (who also wrote the screenplay), the film follows Nick Dunne (Ben Affleck) after the mysterious disappearance of his wife Amy (Rosamund Pike) on their fifth anniversary. He calls the police, but inadvertently becomes a suspect in the investigation. There is evidence of a struggle in the house and Nick seems mostly ambivalent, if not a bit relieved, that his wife isn’t around anymore. Basically, it seems more than reasonable that he could have done this.
But about an hour into the movie, it is revealed that Amy is alive and well. In fact, she’s the one who framed Nick for her “murder,” all because she caught him cheating with one of his students. Couple the infidelity with the slow deterioration of their marriage over time and Amy had had enough. So instead of Nick being officially revealed to be a sociopath, it turns out that Amy is a psychopath who just wants to get back at her cheating husband.
Part of what I love so much about this movie is its ability to be an enlightening relationship drama inside of a smart, dark neo-noir thriller. Whereas a lesser movie like Mr. & Mrs. Smith flat out announces its “that’s marriage” theme, Gone Girl allows the viewer to piece together the different aspects of the film that work towards its larger theme.
Because by the end of the film, Amy has made her way back home and Nick has been absolved by the public, who finally believe he didn’t kill his wife after her return. But her return doesn’t automatically mean that everything is fine and dandy for them. Amy is still manipulative and gaslighting and Nick still wants to get out of the marriage.
Then, when it’s revealed that Amy is pregnant, the couple decides to announce to the world that they’re staying together to raise their child and support each other. It’s an unsurprisingly nihilistic worldview from Fincher. Neither party in the couple actually wants to stay together, but at this point, they each feel backed into a corner in their own specific way.
As the screen fades to black, the closing VoiceOver from Nick says, “What have we done to each other? What will we do?” as if he is completely mortified about the prospect of continuing his marriage, not to mention every thing that has come before. It’s not a hopeful or happy movie, but it radiates the filmmaker’s truth.
On the other hand, Kubrick’s final film, Eyes Wide Shut, which is dark, atmospheric, and quite horrific at times actually portrays a hopeful view of marriage for those going through relational rough patches.
The film follows Bill and Alice Harford (played by then-couple Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman). Bill is a doctor in New York City and that allows him, Alice, and their young daughter Helena (Madison Eginton) to live an upper class lifestyle. And along with their wealth comes an invitation to a large party being thrown by one of Bill’s patients, Victor (Sydney Pollack). At this party, Bill gets deep into a conversation with two models while Alice ends up dancing with a rich older man (who tries to get her to do much more afterwards).
These interactions lead to what seems like the first conversation Bill and Alice have had about fidelity. Insecurities, anger, and confessions come from both of them as they’re honest with each other. Alice admits she was attracted to another man on a family vacation, which indirectly sends Bill off to have a night of self-discovery.
Throughout the night, Bill finds himself going from a patient’s house, to a sex worker’s apartment, to his friend’s bar, and eventually to a sexual ritual at a large mansion in the country. Unfortunately for Bill, the ritual is an extremely exclusive event where the participants wear robes and masks to hide their identities. He sticks out like a sore thumb and is threatened before he eventually eventually leaves for home.
Bill spends the next day thinking about and trying to make sense of what happened to him the previous night. He goes back to the mansion where he’s told to stop showing up and that this will be his final warning. Subsequently, he finds himself back at Victor’s house. Here, Victor tells him none of what he experienced was as high-stakes as he thought. The ritual could ultimately be described as a “rich old man club” where they don’t want to get found out (which is a topic for a whole other essay).
After this conversation, Bill returns home to go Christmas shopping with Alice and Helena. He tells Alice everything that happened the previous night and instead of immediately kicking him out, they talk about what happened and come to the conclusion that they need to — in harsher terms — be more intimate with each other to see if their relationship really can work in the long run.
Now, this movie is no Kramer vs. Kramer in how it chooses to address a couple being open and communicative with each other. That film, while excellent, is a straightforward drama. But I don’t think Kubrick knew how to do straightforward, so Eyes Wide Shut is singularly unique.
Even so, it’s a film about the importance of being open with your partner and communicating your thoughts and troubles. Bill and Alice’s problems came from what they kept inside, which led to (at least for Bill) confusion and paranoia. His wild night mirrored what was happening in his psyche. So in a way only Kubrick could, the story examines and evaluates the importance of being on the same page as your partner so that you don’t even get to the point that Bill did, and especially so you don’t get to where Nick and Amy were in Gone Girl.
I think it’s pretty obvious that I prefer the messaging of Eyes Wide Shut. Fincher and Kubrick rarely miss for me and I love both of these movies, but when it comes down to it, I’m always going to lean towards the more hopeful film. Gone Girl is basically saying that these two people are stuck in a relationship neither of them wants for the long run, and while Eyes Wide Shut doesn’t explicitly say Bill and Alice will live happily ever after, it very much leaves open the possibility that they might. It’s hope, faith, and something to believe in.