https://www.theguardian.com/film/gone-girl Gone Girl! en-gb Guardian News &amp; Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. 2026 Thu, 21 May 2026 03:15:40 GMT 2026-05-21T03:15:40Z en-gb Guardian News &amp; Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. 2026 https://assets.guim.co.uk/images/guardian-logo-rss.c45beb1bafa34b347ac333af2e6fe23f.png https://www.theguardian.com https://www.theguardian.com/film/2023/nov/16/ive-always-felt-like-an-outsider-rosamund-pike-on-class-shame-and-her-blistering-turn-in-saltburn <p>Her latest – wickedly funny – performance in the cutthroat society thriller has Oscar nomination stamped all over it. So why does the actor get so self-conscious?</p><p>Rosamund Pike is jolly when she appears on my laptop screen in a cream-coloured blouse, with a cream jacket draped around her shoulders. Vanilla hair only adds to the suggestion of dessert. It is early evening, and the actor is calling from Prague, where she lives with her partner and their two sons. (She was filming the Amazon fantasy series <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2021/nov/19/the-wheel-of-time-review-amazon-robert-jordan">The Wheel of Time </a>there, and stayed put when the pandemic hit.) Is the wood-panelled opulence behind her real or virtual? “It’s a real hotel,” she protests, then starts brandishing props to prove her point. “It has water and cookies and tea, and a cup with four straws, which is how I roll.” The part that earned her an unfair reputation for iciness – the turncoat Miranda Frost from Die Another Day, which she got straight after university having never seen a Bond film – suddenly feels like centuries ago.</p><p>An hour later, Pike is still smiling but the bonhomie has curdled ever so slightly. “I started off really enjoying that,” she says as we exchange our goodbyes. “But there came a point where I began to feel really uncomfortable. It was like you held up this mirror that I didn’t want to look in.” What exactly went wonky is hard to say.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/2023/nov/16/ive-always-felt-like-an-outsider-rosamund-pike-on-class-shame-and-her-blistering-turn-in-saltburn">Continue reading...</a> Film Rosamund Pike Culture Oscars Emerald Fennell An Education Awards and prizes Stage University of Oxford Gone Girl David Fincher Saltburn Jacob Elordi Thu, 16 Nov 2023 16:00:19 GMT https://www.theguardian.com/film/2023/nov/16/ive-always-felt-like-an-outsider-rosamund-pike-on-class-shame-and-her-blistering-turn-in-saltburn Photograph: Björn Steinz/Panos/The Guardian Photograph: Björn Steinz/Panos/The Guardian Photograph: Björn Steinz/Panos/The Guardian Ryan Gilbey 2023-11-16T16:00:19Z https://www.theguardian.com/film/2023/oct/28/david-fincher-favorite-best-movies-killer-netflix <p>As his chilly new Netflix thriller The Killer is released, Guardian writers look back on their top picks by the director </p><p>More than The Silence of the Lambs, Seven launched a mostly risible trend of late 90s serial killer thrillers that mimicked Fincher’s grimy neo-noir style and the invariably disgusting fetishes that spice up the villain’s dossier. Yet none of the film’s successors could hope to equal the meticulousness of his direction or the bruised humanity that makes its characters such affecting and ultimately tragic figures. That the rain-soaked urban setting has no name gives Seven a unique power, as if this city of unshakable despair and moral rot could be a stand-in for any other on its worst day. Though Morgan Freeman and Brad Pitt sound like stock partners in a detective procedural – one a world-weary, seen-it-all veteran, the other a brush, impetuous newcomer – they develop a soul-stirring bond that makes the gruesome shock of the climax all the more a gut punch. Fincher was left for dead after Alien 3. One film later, he was a major new director. <em>Scott Tobias</em></p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/2023/oct/28/david-fincher-favorite-best-movies-killer-netflix">Continue reading...</a> David Fincher The Social Network Film Gone Girl Fight Club Culture Sat, 28 Oct 2023 08:21:10 GMT https://www.theguardian.com/film/2023/oct/28/david-fincher-favorite-best-movies-killer-netflix Composite: The Guardian/Alamy Composite: The Guardian/Alamy Composite: The Guardian/Alamy Scott Tobias, Veronica Esposito, Jesse Hassenger, Owen Myers, Radheyan Simonpillai, Charles Bramesco and Benjamin Lee 2023-10-28T08:21:10Z https://www.theguardian.com/film/2021/jun/15/gone-girl-and-cocktail-actor-lisa-banes-65-dies-after-scooter-accident-in-new-york <p>The veteran actor, who featured in numerous US TV shows as well as on Broadway, was the victim of a hit and run</p><p>Actor Lisa Banes, 65, star of stage and screen, has died after a hit-and-run collision last week in New York.</p><p>“We are heartsick of Lisa’s tragic and senseless passing,” a representative for Banes said. “She was a woman of great spirit, kindness and generosity and dedicated to her work, whether on stage or in front of a camera and even more so to her wife, family and friends... We were blessed to have had her in our lives.”</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/2021/jun/15/gone-girl-and-cocktail-actor-lisa-banes-65-dies-after-scooter-accident-in-new-york">Continue reading...</a> Film Gone Girl Television Culture Television & radio Stage New York US news World news Tue, 15 Jun 2021 10:38:16 GMT https://www.theguardian.com/film/2021/jun/15/gone-girl-and-cocktail-actor-lisa-banes-65-dies-after-scooter-accident-in-new-york Photograph: Victoria Will/Invision/AP Photograph: Victoria Will/Invision/AP Photograph: Victoria Will/Invision/AP Catherine Shoard 2021-06-15T10:38:16Z https://www.theguardian.com/books/2019/jul/08/it-sickens-me-gillian-flynn-slams-gone-girl-theory-in-missing-woman-case <p>Lawyer for Jennifer Dulos’s husband is exploring whether her disappearance is a ‘Gone Girl-type case’, provoking fury of author behind book</p><p>Gone Girl author Gillian Flynn has said an estranged husband’s claim that his missing wife may have faked her disappearance in the manner of Flynn’s bestselling novel “absolutely sickens” her.</p><p>Connecticut woman Jennifer Dulos has not been seen since 24 May when she was collecting her children from school, <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/US/girl-author-gillian-flynn-sickened-books-comparison-connecticut/story?id=64162755&amp;cid=social_twitter_abcn">according to ABC News</a>. Police believe the mother of five was assaulted in her home, where bloodstains were found. She was in the process of what has been described as a bitter custody dispute with her husband, Fotis Dulos, whose lawyer, Norm Pattis, insists does not know where she is.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2019/jul/08/it-sickens-me-gillian-flynn-slams-gone-girl-theory-in-missing-woman-case">Continue reading...</a> Gillian Flynn Books Culture Connecticut US news Fiction Gone Girl Film Mon, 08 Jul 2019 14:50:03 GMT https://www.theguardian.com/books/2019/jul/08/it-sickens-me-gillian-flynn-slams-gone-girl-theory-in-missing-woman-case Photograph: Tyler Sizemore/AP Photograph: Tyler Sizemore/AP Photograph: Tyler Sizemore/AP Alison Flood 2019-07-08T14:50:03Z https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/gallery/2019/feb/03/rosamund-pike-wears-modern-elegance-in-pictures <p>Rosamund Pike talks about her new film A private War, sleeping under the stars, and the perils of social media. <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/2019/feb/03/rosamund-pike-you-never-regret-saying-yes-interview-a-private-war">Read our interview here</a></p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/gallery/2019/feb/03/rosamund-pike-wears-modern-elegance-in-pictures">Continue reading...</a> Women's tops Women's suits Women's dresses Women's jewellery Women's trousers Women's coats and jackets Women's shirts Women's shoes Fashion Life and style Rosamund Pike Gone Girl Film Culture Sun, 03 Feb 2019 08:05:05 GMT https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/gallery/2019/feb/03/rosamund-pike-wears-modern-elegance-in-pictures Photograph: Dean Chalkley/The Observer Photograph: Dean Chalkley/The Observer Photograph: Dean Chalkley/The Observer Photographer Dean Chalkey and Fashion editor Jo Jones 2019-02-03T08:05:05Z https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2018/dec/22/2018-the-year-in-pop-culture <p>Featuring Cardi B, Sting and Shaggy, Sharp Objects, Teddy from Atlanta, bad sex, Hereditary, Black Panther’s influence, and... dogs</p><ul><li><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/culture/picture/2018/dec/22/modern-toss">Modern Toss of Christmas...</a><br></li></ul> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2018/dec/22/2018-the-year-in-pop-culture">Continue reading...</a> Culture Music Film Television Television & radio Cardi B Rap Nicki Minaj Drake Sting Donald Trump Olly Murs Snoop Dogg Maroon 5 Stranger Things Rihanna Hereditary Black Panther Toni Collette A Star Is Born Bradley Cooper The Greatest Showman Angela Merkel Sharp Objects Patricia Clarkson Gone Girl Amy Adams Atlanta Donald Glover Bodyguard A Very English Scandal The Handmaid's Tale J Balvin Sat, 22 Dec 2018 07:00:23 GMT https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2018/dec/22/2018-the-year-in-pop-culture Composite: HBO; Allstar/20th Century Fox; Jora Frantzis; Warner Bros; BC/World Productions/Sophie Mutevelian; AP; y John Shearer/Getty Composite: HBO; Allstar/20th Century Fox; Jora Frantzis; Warner Bros; BC/World Productions/Sophie Mutevelian; AP; y John Shearer/Getty Composite: HBO; Allstar/20th Century Fox; Jora Frantzis; Warner Bros; BC/World Productions/Sophie Mutevelian; AP; y John Shearer/Getty Issy Sampson, Steve Rose, Fiona Sturges, Ellen E Jones, Michael Cragg, Gavin Haynes and Rebecca Nicholson 2018-12-22T07:00:23Z https://www.theguardian.com/books/2018/apr/14/perfect-crime-fiction-bestsellers-whodunnits-thrillers-leave-rivals-for-dead While literary novels are sidelined, crime fiction is fast developing as the most versatile narrative of our times<p>For years, crime fiction titles have topped the bestseller lists and library lending tables. That <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2018/apr/12/mystery-crime-fiction-bestselling-book-genre-sophie-hannah" title="">sales of the genre have now overtaken general fiction</a>, as revealed at the London Book Fair last week, comes as no surprise to its readers, practitioners, critics and industry professionals.</p><p>We’ve always recognised its reach, dynamism, integrity and, increasingly, diversity. Yet its rise, and indeed acceptance, is still a mystery to some, with any number of narratives seeking to understand the phenomenon. This is about as helpful as trying to define exactly what makes a bestseller a bestseller, and, perhaps more important, how to spot the next big thing. At best it’s a lucky amalgamation; so many factors come into play. Being in the right place at the right time, with the right idea, and talent, might be one answer. But how the hell do you come up with the right idea?</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2018/apr/14/perfect-crime-fiction-bestsellers-whodunnits-thrillers-leave-rivals-for-dead">Continue reading...</a> Crime fiction Crime films Film Fiction Books TV crime drama Television & radio Gone Girl The Girl on the Train Sat, 14 Apr 2018 23:05:34 GMT https://www.theguardian.com/books/2018/apr/14/perfect-crime-fiction-bestsellers-whodunnits-thrillers-leave-rivals-for-dead Photograph: Public Domain Photograph: Public Domain Photograph: Public Domain Henry Sutton 2018-04-14T23:05:34Z https://www.theguardian.com/books/2018/jan/14/crime-fiction-daniel-mallory-woman-in-the-window-debut-interview <p>Having written his debut novel in total secrecy and published it under a pseudonym, Daniel Mallory has been astounded that The Woman in the Window has created a worldwide bidding frenzy. Tim Adams meets the novelist as he steps out of the shadows</p><p>Last year, Daniel Mallory had one of those weeks that all first-time novelists fantasise about. Through an agent he had submitted his manuscript to several publishers and was about to take a short holiday. The excitement started when he arrived at Newark airport in New York to take a plane to Palm Springs. That was when the first offer to publish his book came in.</p><p>After that, Mallory says: “It was the full dream.” His phone lit up with offers and messages like in the movies. “I was going on holiday with someone and he was taking a separate flight and he texted me in mid-air, and asked: ‘How is your flight?’ And I texted back: ‘Life changing.’ And he wrote back ‘LOL’, and I was like, ‘No, Really!”’</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2018/jan/14/crime-fiction-daniel-mallory-woman-in-the-window-debut-interview">Continue reading...</a> Crime fiction Books Culture Gone Girl Film Fiction Dan Mallory Sun, 14 Jan 2018 09:00:22 GMT https://www.theguardian.com/books/2018/jan/14/crime-fiction-daniel-mallory-woman-in-the-window-debut-interview Photograph: Phil Fisk/The Observer Photograph: Phil Fisk/The Observer Photograph: Phil Fisk/The Observer Tim Adams 2018-01-14T09:00:22Z https://www.theguardian.com/film/2016/oct/11/girl-on-the-train-bridget-jones-baby-uk-box-office-analysis <p>Thriller starring Emily Blunt grabs the top spot with £6.9m in takings, trumping Gone Girl’s opening, while Louis Theroux’s My Scientology Movie reports rapid sellouts</p><p>After three weeks at the top spot, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/2016/sep/05/bridget-joness-baby-review-reborn-renee-zellweger-excels-in-fun-romp-heavy-with-expectation">Bridget Jones’s Baby</a> finally makes way, knocked aside by the big-screen adaptation of Paula Hawkins’ bestseller, The Girl on the Train. The murder mystery begins in the UK with a sturdy £5.18m, with Wednesday and Thursday previews boosting the total to £6.96m.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/2016/oct/11/girl-on-the-train-bridget-jones-baby-uk-box-office-analysis">Continue reading...</a> Film Culture UK news Gone Girl Emily Blunt Bridget Jones's Baby Louis Theroux The BFG Tue, 11 Oct 2016 16:12:56 GMT https://www.theguardian.com/film/2016/oct/11/girl-on-the-train-bridget-jones-baby-uk-box-office-analysis Photograph: Allstar/Dreamworks Skg Photograph: Allstar/Dreamworks Skg Photograph: Allstar/Dreamworks Skg Charles Gant 2016-10-11T16:12:56Z https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/oct/08/how-we-got-to-the-girl-on-the-train-moonstone-the-rise-of-the-psychological-thriller <p>Ahead of a new TV adaptation of Wilkie Collins’s The Moonstone, John Mullan explains how The Girl on the Train’s themes of adultery, murder and secret identity are rooted in the Victorian era</p><p>The two adaptations may not seem closely related. This week the film version of <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/paula-hawkins">Paula Hawkins</a>’s bestseller <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/jan/08/the-girl-on-the-train-paula-hawkins-review-novel"><em>The Girl on the Train</em></a>, starring British actor <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/emily-blunt">Emily Blunt</a> but transposed from south-east England to the New York commuter belt, was released in the UK. Meanwhile, later this month, a new dramatisation of Wilkie Collins’s <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2014/jul/22/book-beach-the-moonstone-wilkie-collins"><em>The Moonstone</em></a>, initially published as a weekly serial in 1868, will be screened by the BBC. <em>The Girl on the Train</em> is being trumpeted with all the noise that a major Hollywood studio can make; <em>The Moonstone</em> will be shown on five consecutive days. Yet the books from which they derive are closely connected. Hawkins’s novel is one recent, hugely successful incarnation of a type of fiction that Collins invented. We call it the “psychological thriller”.</p><p>Collins is simply one of the most influential of all English novelists. In the 1860s he published his four great “sensation novels” (as they were dubbed by contemporary reviewers): <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2009/nov/26/woman-in-white-150-years-sensation"><em>The Woman in White</em></a>, <em>No Name</em>, <em>Armadale</em> and <em>The Moonstone</em>. Wildly popular for a time, his books were largely scorned as melodramatic crowd-pleasers after his death in 1889, but began to be reassessed in the late 20th century (now almost all of them are in print as “classic” editions). Look closely at his most powerful books and it is extraordinary how many of the features of the modern psychological thriller he foresaw.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/oct/08/how-we-got-to-the-girl-on-the-train-moonstone-the-rise-of-the-psychological-thriller">Continue reading...</a> Thrillers Books Culture Fiction The Girl on the Train Wilkie Collins Paula Hawkins Gone Girl Film Gillian Flynn Sat, 08 Oct 2016 06:00:35 GMT https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/oct/08/how-we-got-to-the-girl-on-the-train-moonstone-the-rise-of-the-psychological-thriller Illustration: DAVID McCONOCHIE Illustration: DAVID McCONOCHIE Illustration: DAVID McCONOCHIE John Mullan 2016-10-08T06:00:35Z https://www.theguardian.com/film/filmblog/2016/oct/05/girl-on-the-train-alfred-hitchcock-thriller <p>The spirit of Alfred Hitchcock has returned to push filmgoers back to the edge of their seats with the release of a set of suspenseful new films but why does Hollywood keep returning to his template?</p><p>Few things would please Alfred Hitchcock more than the idea that, 36 years after his death, he is somehow “back”: a portly, sinister specter in the back row of the multiplex, or perhaps leaving an insidious trail of silvery ectoplasm across Hollywood backlots. Then again, he’d probably take issue with the idea that he was ever gone: Hitchcock took up spiritual residence in genre cinema and television while he was very much alive, as suspense techniques that began as his alone became standard practice.</p><p>“Hitchcockian” has become a go-to descriptor for entire branches of storytelling – not always an apposite one, but evocative to an audience far beyond the film-nerd coterie that tends to adjectivize auteurs. (Even “Coenesque” feels niche by comparison.) And when Vertigo formally challenged Citizen Kane for branded “greatest film of all time” status – topping Sight &amp; Sound’s famed decennial critics’ poll in 2012, ending Kane’s 50-year reign – it was clear that Hitchcock’s style remained something of a cinematic <em>lingua franca</em>, its effectiveness and influence recognizable to viewers across cultures and generations. Indeed, as the poll met with inevitable online pushback from film fans, the recurring question wasn’t “why Hitchcock?”, but “why <em>this </em>Hitchcock?” Among others, Psycho, North by Northwest, Rear Window and Notorious have at least as many adherents; DNA from any number of his works is detectable in one contemporary thriller or another.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/filmblog/2016/oct/05/girl-on-the-train-alfred-hitchcock-thriller">Continue reading...</a> The Girl on the Train Alfred Hitchcock Thrillers Film Gone Girl Culture Wed, 05 Oct 2016 10:00:00 GMT https://www.theguardian.com/film/filmblog/2016/oct/05/girl-on-the-train-alfred-hitchcock-thriller Photograph: Allstar/Dreamworks Skg Photograph: Allstar/Dreamworks Skg Photograph: Allstar/Dreamworks Skg Guy Lodge 2016-10-05T10:00:00Z https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/jun/02/beach-read-summer-books-holiday-vacation <p>Derided and maligned as cheap and cheerful summer flings, in truth, the best summer reads have always been much more than a passing holiday romance</p><p><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/profile/emma-straub">Emma Straub</a>’s new novel, Modern Lovers, is one book you can judge by its cover, apparently. The bright, cheerful yellow and green cover signifies something you’d like to take on vacation. This was a strategy that worked well for Straub’s last novel, The Vacationers, whose light blue colour, in a similar motif, helped it to the bestseller lists of 2015.</p><p>The marketing is so blatant, finally, that <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2008/may/01/dontmesswithmichikokakutan">the notoriously acerbic Michiko Kakutani </a>– in a largely positive review in the New York Times – picked up on it: “With its sunny cover and May 31 publication date, the book looks like designated vacation reading – but it’s just too deftly and thoughtfully written to be relegated merely to the beach.”</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/jun/02/beach-read-summer-books-holiday-vacation">Continue reading...</a> Books Culture Gone Girl James Patterson Thomas Pynchon Crime fiction Fiction Thu, 02 Jun 2016 13:00:08 GMT https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/jun/02/beach-read-summer-books-holiday-vacation Photograph: Alamy Photograph: Alamy Photograph: Alamy Michelle Dean 2016-06-02T13:00:08Z https://www.theguardian.com/film/2016/jan/24/dark-places-review-harlize-theron-gillian-flynn-adaptation <p>Charlize Theron stars in this creaky satanic mystery adaptation from Gone Girl author, Gillian Flynn</p><p>The week’s second under-par release featuring Chloë Grace Moretz is an adaptation of <em>Gone Girl</em> author Gillian Flynn’s typically twisty 2009 potboiler. The producer and star, <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/may/07/charlize-theron-unequal-pay">Charlize Theron</a>, plays Libby Day, a tormented soul whose brother, Ben, has been in prison for murdering his mother and sisters ever since Libby testified against him as an eight-year-old. Lyle Wirth (Nicholas Hoult), an amateur criminologist-cum-murder-geek, and his “kill club” cohorts believe that Ben is innocent, but Libby is unwilling to face up to the guilty secrets that lurk in her own... dark places!</p><p>The premise is creaky and the satanic-scare backstory more intriguingly handled in Alejandro Amenábar’s wrongly ridiculed <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/oct/11/regression-review-alejandro-amenabar-ethan-hawke"><em>Regression</em></a>. But <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/film/2011/aug/04/sarahs-key-review"><em>Sarah’s Key</em></a> director Gilles Paquet-Brenner invests the split-time action with some brooding menace and the cinematographer, Barry Ackroyd, does his best to lend some urgency, even as things spiral from suspense into outright silliness.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/2016/jan/24/dark-places-review-harlize-theron-gillian-flynn-adaptation">Continue reading...</a> Drama films Film Culture Charlize Theron Gillian Flynn Gone Girl Nicholas Hoult Sun, 24 Jan 2016 08:00:02 GMT https://www.theguardian.com/film/2016/jan/24/dark-places-review-harlize-theron-gillian-flynn-adaptation Photograph: Everett/Rex/Shutterstock Photograph: Everett/Rex/Shutterstock Photograph: Everett/Rex/Shutterstock Mark Kermode, Observer film critic 2016-01-24T08:00:02Z https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2015/nov/06/great-idea-gone-girl-selfie-stick-cronut-tinder-emoji-gogglebox <p>Tinder, Cronuts, emoji, Gogglebox ... one ingenious idea can set you up for life. Here, 11 creators share the story of their success</p><ul><li><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2015/nov/06/zuckerberg-facebook-next-big-idea">Could you be the next Mark Zuckerberg?</a></li></ul> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2015/nov/06/great-idea-gone-girl-selfie-stick-cronut-tinder-emoji-gogglebox">Continue reading...</a> Life and style Gone Girl Gillian Flynn Books Television Culture Television & radio Business Entrepreneurs Small business Advertising Media Social media Digital media Board games Food Tinder Technology Baking Fri, 06 Nov 2015 07:00:14 GMT https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2015/nov/06/great-idea-gone-girl-selfie-stick-cronut-tinder-emoji-gogglebox Photograph: Tuomas Kujansuu/Getty Images Photograph: Tuomas Kujansuu/Getty Images Photograph: Tuomas Kujansuu/Getty Images Various contributors 2015-11-06T07:00:14Z https://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/may/24/return-to-sender-review-assured-revenge-thriller <p>Gone Girl’s Rosamund Pike brings icy zeal to her role as a rape survivor who starts visiting her assailant in jail</p><p>Rosamund Pike lends A-list heft to <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KCXcbaYk7-o" title="">this off-kilter exploiter</a> about a rape survivor who visits her assailant in prison, where he comes to believe that she holds a redemptive candle for him. Things are clearly not what they seem and you keep wondering exactly when this is going to turn into <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/film/2006/jun/18/features.review" title=""><em>Hard Candy</em></a>. Nick Nolte lends wounded-bear support as the father torn apart by his inability to protect his daughter, but <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/film/2014/oct/05/gone-girl-review-two-different-readings-modern-marriage" title=""><em>Gone Girl</em></a><em> </em>Pike is more than a match for any man and director Fouad Mikati taps into her icy zeal with aplomb.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/may/24/return-to-sender-review-assured-revenge-thriller">Continue reading...</a> Thrillers Rosamund Pike Gone Girl Film Culture Sun, 24 May 2015 07:00:05 GMT https://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/may/24/return-to-sender-review-assured-revenge-thriller Photograph: Patti Perret/PR Rosamund Pike makes a prison visit in Return to Sender. Photograph: Patti Perret Photograph: Patti Perret/PR Rosamund Pike makes a prison visit in Return to Sender. Photograph: Patti Perret Photograph: Patti Perret/PR Rosamund Pike makes a prison visit in Return to Sender. Photograph: Patti Perret Mark Kermode, Observer film critic 2015-05-24T07:00:05Z https://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/mar/05/neil-patrick-harris-denies-oscars-2016 <p>This year’s host claims ‘it was fun’ to present but isn’t counting on returning to the hosting duties next year</p><p>There was a great deal of anticipation for multihyphenate star Neil Patrick Harris’s role as Oscars host and, despite a great deal of goodwill towards the star, reaction was lukewarm at best.</p><p><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/feb/23/neil-patrick-harris-oscars-host-fails-deliver">Reviews were damning</a> and <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/feb/24/neil-patrick-harris-oscars-lowest-ratings-since-2009">ratings were at their lowest since 2009</a> leading most to believe that he won’t be making a return to the ceremony in 2016. It’s something that the star of Gone Girl and How I Met Your Mother has suggested in a new interview with <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/03/04/neil-patrick-harris-oscars_n_6795084.html">the Huffington Post</a>.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/mar/05/neil-patrick-harris-denies-oscars-2016">Continue reading...</a> Oscars 2015 Neil Patrick Harris Film Culture Oscars Awards and prizes US news Film industry World news Gone Girl Comedy Comedy films Thu, 05 Mar 2015 14:59:24 GMT https://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/mar/05/neil-patrick-harris-denies-oscars-2016 Photograph: A.M.P.A.S/Rex Photograph: A.M.P.A.S/Rex Photograph: A.M.P.A.S/Rex Benjamin Lee 2015-03-05T14:59:24Z https://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/mar/04/transformers-4-product-placement <p>Michael Bay blockbuster missed out on<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/film/2014/dec/10/transformers-age-of-extinction-oscar-campaign"> hoped-for Oscar nominations</a> but did top list of movies pushing consumer products, featuring plugs for 55 brands including Budweiser, Armani and Yili milk</p><p>While rules on small screen product placement have led to <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/media/2011/jun/20/product-placement-logo">the introduction of the letter “p”</a> whenever something is about to be hawked in your direction, such selling is less rigorously policed at the cinema.</p><p>And while this might lead to seemingly endless audience eye-rolls in the summer season, the upside is <a href="http://www.brandchannel.com/home/post/150220-2015-Brandcameo-Product-Placement-Awards.aspx">the annual Brandcameo product placement awards</a>, which takes great pleasure in rewarding the most obnoxiously stuffed films of the year.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/mar/04/transformers-4-product-placement">Continue reading...</a> Transformers: Age of Extinction Product placement Film Culture Gone Girl Ride Along The Theory of Everything Michael Bay Advertising Marketing & PR Film industry Apple Business Wed, 04 Mar 2015 16:57:05 GMT https://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/mar/04/transformers-4-product-placement Photograph: Andrew Cooper Photograph: Andrew Cooper Photograph: Andrew Cooper Benjamin Lee 2015-03-04T16:57:05Z https://www.theguardian.com/film/filmblog/2015/feb/08/bafta-predictions-2015-who-will-win- <p>London gets its time in the limelight this evening as Hollywood troops into town to pick up prizes and make one final pitch for Oscar glory. Join us from 5pm GMT for coverage; in the meantime, here’s how we think the gongs will be divvied up</p><p><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/film/gallery/2015/feb/07/bafta-award-party-in-pictures-eddie-redmayne-felicity-jones">• Pre Baftas party: in pictures</a></p><p>What happens in the Royal Opera House does not stay in the Royal Opera House. The repercussions will be felt not just through the rest of the winners’ – and losers’ – careers but will have a more immediate impact, too.</p><p>Oscar voting closes on 17 February, a week after the Baftas, and it is the performances the big stars deliver tonight which could be the ones that lead voters to tick, or not tick, in the appropriate box. Perceived snubs may be consolidated, or Academy members may seek to redress perceived wrongs.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/filmblog/2015/feb/08/bafta-predictions-2015-who-will-win-">Continue reading...</a> Baftas 2015 Baftas Awards and prizes Oscars 2015 Golden Globes 2015 Mr Turner The Imitation Game The Theory of Everything Birdman Eddie Redmayne Michael Keaton The Grand Budapest Hotel Richard Linklater ‘71 Paddington Pride Under The Skin Northern Soul Lilting Kajaki Two Days, One Night Leviathan The Lunchbox Trash Ida Documentary films Citizenfour 20,000 Days on Earth 20 Feet from Stardom The Lego Movie Big Hero 6 The Boxtrolls Alejandro González Iñárritu Whiplash Nightcrawler American Sniper Gone Girl Jake Gyllenhaal Ralph Fiennes Benedict Cumberbatch Julianne Moore Reese Witherspoon Felicity Jones Amy Adams Rosamund Pike JK Simmons Edward Norton Mark Ruffalo Ethan Hawke Steve Carell Music Into the Woods Guardians of the Galaxy Shailene Woodley Culture Film Sun, 08 Feb 2015 08:43:27 GMT https://www.theguardian.com/film/filmblog/2015/feb/08/bafta-predictions-2015-who-will-win- Photograph: PR Photograph: PR Photograph: PR Catherine Shoard 2015-02-08T08:43:27Z https://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/feb/07/gone-girl-dvd-review <p>‘Gone Girl’s regressive tale of psychosexual anxiety is less a horror story than a state-of-the-nation address’</p><p>There’s a longstanding rumour that Gus Van Sant’s motivation for remaking Psycho with Anne Heche and Vince Vaughn in the lead roles was not that he thought it was a good idea, but that he thought it was such a spectacularly bad idea that pulling it off would prove beyond a shadow of a doubt his status as a master film-maker. I’ve no idea if that’s true, but David Fincher has been putting a similar theory into practice for the best part of a decade now and it’s certainly working for him.</p><p>After adapting a true-crime paperback into one of the great films of the 21st century in 2007’s Zodiac, Fincher has thrown himself wholesale into the business of transforming tawdry best-sellers into exquisitely realised prestige pictures with delusions of epoch-defining grandeur, first with The Social Network, then The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo and now Gone Girl.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/feb/07/gone-girl-dvd-review">Continue reading...</a> DVD and video reviews Culture Gone Girl Film Sat, 07 Feb 2015 06:00:01 GMT https://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/feb/07/gone-girl-dvd-review Photograph: PR Gone Girl DVD cover Photograph: PR Gone Girl DVD cover Photograph: PR Gone Girl DVD cover Charlie Lyne 2015-02-07T06:00:01Z https://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/feb/06/oscars-2015-who-will-win-best-actress <p>Julianne Moore’s complex performance as an English professor battling Alzheimer’s in Still Alice should finally net her the statuette on her fifth attempt</p><p>Almost every year, Oscar pundits insist on telling us how “weak” the best actress race is, pointing out the dearth of female contenders from the year’s most fancied films. They’re not wrong on the latter point – certainly not this year, at least – but equating it to a limited range of worthy female leads is a false connection, and an idle one.</p><p>Last year featured a wealth of award-level performances from women in films that don’t fit the conventional Academy model, from Scarlett Johansson in Under the Skin to Jenny Slate in Obvious Child. Dismissed out of hand by predictors before they have a chance to pique curiosity, such possibilities can nonetheless enter the fold when baitier-on-paper prospects fall through. The race for this year’s final slot turned out to be unexpectedly competitive: Jennifer Aniston and Amy Adams made surprise surges for films disregarded by critics, but it was an arthouse darling widely perceived as too refined for Academy tastes who beat them to the punch.<br></p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/feb/06/oscars-2015-who-will-win-best-actress">Continue reading...</a> The Theory of Everything Two Days, One Night Still Alice Wild Film Gone Girl Rosamund Pike Reese Witherspoon Marion Cotillard Felicity Jones Oscars 2015 Awards and prizes Culture Julianne Moore Fri, 06 Feb 2015 12:42:00 GMT https://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/feb/06/oscars-2015-who-will-win-best-actress Photograph: PR Photograph: PR Photograph: PR Guy Lodge 2015-02-06T12:42:00Z