TK: Shot-by-Shot Analysis - Gone Girl (Fincher, 2014)

In this clip from Gone Girl, tension and powerful emotions are constructed within a domestic environment, centred around the struggling marriage of a man and his mentally disturbed wife, culminating in a moment of violence that whilst lacking in intensity, is emphasised and lifted into an incredibly impactful moment through the use of film language and techniques. 

Camera techniques:

• In a medium close up shot, the camera is framed on a mirror, with Amy visible in the foreground from behind, but her reflection and that of her husband visible in the mirror.
  
  
  
  
• A sense of cosiness and security is constructed through the medium shots that take prevalence during most of the conversation scene. 

• Steady cam shots track the characters as they move around the scene, staying on one side of the 180 degree line throughout. 

• When shot/reverse shot is used, Amy is framed in a high angle, whilst Nick is framed in a low angle, making her seem subordinate to him. Nick is also given higher frame presence in the shot of Amy's face. 

• A shot pans downwards as the two characters walk down the stairs, ending on a medium shot focused on Amy's emotional expression. 

• A medium long shot frames Nick and Amy against the door for just a moment before he attacks her. 

• The push only lasts a few moments but is framed in several different shots; a knee-height long shot, a high angle long shot and another high angle medium shot framed on Amy's body as she recoils from the attack. 

• A very low angle (almost a worms eye view) frames Nick against the light behind him, making him a threatening masculine figure, and giving him a higher status.

Editing techniques:

• The whole clip is edited for continuity, constructing straightforward, chronological meaning with the placement and selection of the scenes and shots. 
• The clip has quite a warm, yellow and beige tinting to it, creating the sense of a cosy, close, domestic environment. 
• The moment Amy is pushed to the floor plays out in slight slow motion, emphasising the impact of the action. At this point also, the shots fade to black for a split second before fading in the next shot, unlike the rest of the clip where they cut normally. 
• Throughout the first half of the clip, Amy seems to motivate the cuts, as her movement throughout the rooms is followed by the shots. After Nick kisses her, he starts to motivate the cuts more prevalently, showing the shift in focus and power, and slowly building tension throughout the clip. When Nick pushes Amy, she motivates the cuts, causing the scene to focus completely on her character for that moment. 
• Regular shot/reverse shot is used during several parts of the conversation. 

Mise-En-Scene techniques:

• In terms of costume, both Nick and Amy are dressed in average looking contemporary clothing, intended to build verisimilitude in the clip. 
• The location is a modern looking, large house, pushing the idea of a domestic, classy American lifestyle. 
• The lighting throughout is fairly soft and dim, adding to the warmth of the scene and maintaining the upper class aesthetic of the environment. 
• After she is pushed, make-up is used on Amy's face to make her eyes appear reddened and tearful.

Sound techniques:

• Non-diegetic sound is used subtly in the clip. The musical score is ambient and synth-infused throughout the argument, with some soft violins, all of it anchored in minor key. This creates a sense of serenity even over the loud voices and tension in an almost dissonant technique, creating a false sense of security within the seemingly safe domestic location. 
• Low, bassy notes anchor the moment when Amy is pushed to the floor with tension, as the violins become more scratchy and increase in volume, making Nick seem like a very threatening presence in only a few seconds of sound. 
• The dialogue increases in volume throughout the argument as it's delivered, peaking at Amy's line "It's not even close," before she is thrown to the ground. This is another way the scene slowly constructs its tension. 
• The diegetic sound of Amy smacking into the stair post and falling to the ground is selected and increased in volume, emphasising the emotional (and physical) impact and implications of the action. 
• Amy monologues over several parts of the clip, in a serene, almost sad tone of voice, adding more depth to her character in the scene with lines such as "The kind of woman I used to mock," in reference to the way she acts. 
• This culminates in the final line of the scene, "I am frightened of my own husband," which is an incredibly impactful piece of scripting, and combined with the sound mix, editing and shots used in that moment, ends the extract on a horrific and haunting note.