Check out Gone on Date Night
After glimpsing some pretty dismal reviews, I was a bit wary about seeing Gone. I was worried that Amanda Seyfried’s character would simply be crazy, and that everything would be in her head. I also figured that Wes Bentley was the killer since he was simply in the movie to begin with (you know how Cary Elwes always ends up in the same position? We call that the Cary Elwes effect around here), that there would be gratuitous violence and rape, and that overall I would be disappointed with yet another movie that victimizes victims all over again.
But you know what? I was wrong on most accounts. I won’t tell you which to avoid spoiling the film, but suffice to say that it was actually an empowering movie for victims that does not become sexual (aside from the outline of Seyfried’s body in a shower scene). In fact, parts that could be sexual are simply alluded to, leaving us to wonder what exactly happened to the missing girls. In any case, the crime details are not the important facets of the film; instead, it focuses on one girl saving the life of her sister—and not being helped, or even believed, by the cops who should be doing the job instead.
Though its plot wasn’t very well executed and, like my little sister said, it felt like a longer episode of Law and Order with stupider cops and a strung-out version of Kristen Steward in twenty years, I really enjoyed the movie from a female perspective. We are so used to not being believed (or being called “crazy,” which drives me crazy!) and so many victims of domestic violence, rape, and other crimes are simply not believed or not helped every single year. Seyfried’s character is in this same position, and instead of being a stereotype or proving the cops—and their blatant victim-blaming in the film—correct, she instead takes a stand and proves to be incredibly resourceful and strong by the end of the film.
Like I said, the plot’s not perfect—and there are some what-ifs and gaps that just don’t make it as believable or as good as it could have been. Even so, there are some good make-you-jump moments—one in which I literally gasped out loud and make several people laugh!—and some great tension that, while not Silence of the Lambs quality, still makes for great entertainment.
While the ending wasn’t wholly satisfying, I still enjoyed it, and I am sure that many men and women would on a date night as well.