Just as it hit big with readers a few summers back, Gone Girl is proving a big hit in its big screen adaptation. Critics are raving. Audiences are turning out in force. And now comes the time where book readers pick apart every difference between the two.
Author Gillian Flynn translated her wildly popular novel into a savvy screenplay, and much of her original story stayed intact. But there was one plot point that she confesses director David Fincher demanded she change. She shared it with Vulture.
MAJOR spoilers for Gone Girl's book and movie lay ahead. Don't say we didn't warn you.
When Amy is lacing her home with clever clues to implicate her husband Nick in her murder, she drains a large amount of blood from herself and pours it on the kitchen floor. Then sloppily cleans it up. However, the method of how she extracts this blood is very different between page and screen. In the book, Amy cuts herself open. But in the movie, a more measured version of Amazing Amy uses a needle and IV approach, while coolly reading a book.
Flynn says of this alteration:
" That was David. David just didn’t buy it. He was like, 'She’s too careful.' And of course, being Mr. Smarty Pants, he was like, 'Have you ever actually cut a jugular? Do you know anything about anatomy? You could very easily hurt yourself! It’s got to be more precise.' So he didn’t buy it."
As much as I liked the book, that part always struck me as odd for exactly the reason Fincher points out. Amy's plan is so well thought out that it seems odd she's leave that to chance. Plus, there's something uniquely chilling watching her casually draining blood from her body into a Tupperware while reading a novel like it's no big thing.
Other changes were harder for Gillian Flynn to make, like the chopping out of several of the book's female characters. Mamma Maureen demanded too much time to set up, so instead, Flynn laced the influence and thoughts of Nick's mom in his scenes with his sister and mother-in-law. Desi's mom never made it to a draft of the screenplay, but Hilary Handy, Amy's most notable female victim, did make it to at least the early drafting stage. "It was a bummer to lose Hilary," Flynn confesses, "She was in the first draft, because I liked to show that Amy’s skillset wasn’t just aimed at men, which is why I have her spit in Greta’s drink (in the movie). She’s someone who upon a slight is going to take care of it."
To learn what other changes exist between Gone Girl's book and movie, click here.
