Film Analysis. Examining the Use of Lighting in the Film Movie Review

GONE GIRL.
Examining the Use of Lighting in the Film.
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GONE GIRL.
Abstract.
This essay explores how the cinematographer of the film Gone Gir, Jeff Cronenweth, generally utilized the lighting aspect in shaping the movie, Gone Girl. It discusses the general use of lighting in the film while focusing on how it has been incorporated with the shots to tell the story, creates significant moods, offer relevant insights and reflect the psychology of the audience as well as define and support the genre of the film.
Thesis.
In the film, Gone Girl, David Fincher uses light to tell the story of the film chronologically from the creation of the conflict to its climax, down to the resolution.
The Use of Lighting in Gone Girl
Gone Girl marks the fourth collaboration between Jeff Cronenweth and David Fincher as the stretch began with the 1999 Fight Club through The Social Network and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. If there is something that the partnership has brought to the world of digital cinematography is the outstanding use of the lighting aspect with Cronenweth's exquisite creation of thrilling yet beautiful and precisely visualized environments for the complexities of stories in his films. Throughout the film, every shot has been orchestrated and captured to maintain the explanation of the narrative. The way the light hits the faces of the characters and how the shots reveal the scene or the environment is arguably used to symbolize the state of the conflict in the mystery of the bar owner, Nick Dunne, and the missing of his wife, Amy.
Nick.
At the beginning of the film, it is evident that the roles of Nick and Amy are contrasting. This is to say that lighting has been used to show Nick as a mystery, which nobody knows what he is thinking. Low-key lighting has been used together with a long shot camera distance to depict his dishonest relationships and his foul nature when it comes to love. At only 0:23, when Nick is discussing the back of Amy's head, the viewer is instantly struck with the image of Amy, although it is the sound of Nick playing in the background. The fact that his face has been hidden manifests his character as a strange individual whose presence in the story is not so central compared to Amy and his sister. Additionally, the shot hides his identity to show his isolation in the film and how he says "When I think of my wife, I always think of her head, I always think of cracking her lovely skull, unspooling her brains, trying to get answers…”0:29- Low key light and the hidden face of Nick to manifest his isolation.
The character of Nick is always hiding in his house like he is in a cave. There are vast and detailed spaces that box his presence. The lighting and the camera distance portrays his character throughout the film with a reasonable mystery to create the relevance of the genre of the film, a thriller. When watching the earliest segments of the film, the viewer is always sure of the actions of the other characters, except the role of Nick. This is because the cinematographer has used attached shadows to illuminate only one part of Nick, particularly his face and the rest of his features. Moreover, the genre of the film is heightened by the fact that there is minimal to no information about Nick in the movie. At 23:16, James Gilpin, Boney's partner on the case, states that the house of the couple is rented in Amy's name, the car, all the credit cards, utilities, phone bills, and The Bar.[Bordwell, David, and Kristin Thompson. Film Art: An Introduction. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2010.]
57:37- Use of low key light and attached shadows to hide the identity and character of Nick.
57: 43- Another instance of the use of shading.
Low-key lighting has been used on Nick in the first sections of the film to create the mood of the film. This type of lighting uses a hard light source to enhance the shadows of the scene. This form of illumination relies on deep blacks, shadows, and darker tones with minimal use of the white light. Low-key lighting is used when the director intends to isolate the subject and convey a particular degree of drama in the film. As mentioned earlier, lighting is principally used to offer relevant insights to the viewers and reflect on their psychology on the activities in the movie. Therefore, the specific use of low-key in the scenes of Nick in Gone Girl is practical to guide the eyes of the audience on the direction that they ought to take as far as the story takes them. For example, at 59:40, when Detective Rhonda Boney informs Nick that Amy was pregnant, the director uses a cast light to bring out a somber mood of anger. Right after he receives the information, Nick smashes his whiskey glass on the floor, loses his trust in the police, and tells her that he is not going to talk to her again without a lawyer.[Gillette, J. Michael, and Michael Mcnamara. “The Lighting Key.” Designing with Light, July 2019, 229–40. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429444678-13.]
59:40- Use of low-key light to manifest the mood of anger and depression.
At the end of the film, Nick is shown differently. The key to filling ratio is lower, and the pictures of his face appear to be brighter than before. He is no longer hidden from the population and indeed to the viewers. His character begins to be more dominant throughout the later segments of the film as it looks like the people have grown a liking to him and confidence in his version of the story. Equally important, the lighting around these parts is more engaging, and Nick is agreeably included in the film and not as isolated as he was in the previous sections. This segment begins after Nick has found and deduced all of Amy's clues and found out that the whole process was his framing for her murder. This is the point where the roles have changed, and although her story is understandable, Amy is the villain in this part of the story.
1:26:50- The use of brighter light on Nick to mark the change of the narrative.
Light has been used in the film to tell the story of the film. Moreover, it gives the viewer a sense of direction, truth, and a lighter psychological connotation as they now understand the ground at which Nick stands. The lighting provides the audience with additional and factual information about the character of Nick, although he used to be cheating on his wife with other girls, he did not commit murder. This is as opposed to the previous sections, where his intentions were seemingly homicidal and doubtful. Thereupon, the break from the belief that the viewer had that Amy is an innocent girl killed by her husband is brought to the open with a shift in the lighting aspect of the film. Furthermore, after Nick has had a conversation with Tanner Bolt, his attorney, the exposure of his face changes the mood of the film. His composed and happier face transforms the development of the conflict from a dull, angry, and depressed mood to a lighter, more buoyant, and airy mood. The pictures below show the change in the lighting in the later sections of the film.
1:36:53- Exposed highlights of Nick to tell his protagonist version of the story.
1:53:17- A scene where Nick apologizes to Amy.
Amy.
In an interview with IndiWire, Cronenweth said that "Rosamund's character (Amy) sort of morphs from one character to another and then morphs back again, and so we needed that to be a different world when she was off on her own. He...