Gone girl and its ending

take everything

I watched Gone Girl again for the second time recently.
First time I watched it, It felt unsatisfactory because of the ending. I was fuming that a guy could

be so weak and stay with her.

But after watching it again as a satire, which I didn't really see it as initially, it sits better with me.
And I see it as a genuinely great film.

The performances are all great.
Rosemund Pike is scarily good as the narcissistic, manipulative bitch. Ben Affleck gives one of the best performances I've seen from him. An alpha male who becomes complacent and is flawed but relatable. The dynamic between these two characters is so interesting.

Then there's his opposite played by Neil Patrick Harris creepy, desperate suitor whom she despises but is all she got when she hits rock bottom.

On first viewing I just couldn't accept the ending. It seemed ridiculous. But if taken as subtle satire of marriage/treatment of men in the media compared to women, it makes sense.

I've come to appreciate it as one of my favourite films.
Thoughts.

Sad Professor

I do wonder if perhaps Fincher messed up the ending by having the audience empathise too much with Affleck. Given that he designed a way for his crazy wife to come back, we really shouldn't be feeling sorry for him or wondering why he did it. Rather we should be feeling they both got what they deserved: each other. It's his relationship with his sister that really swings it. Without that I think he'd come across a lot worse and we wouldn't feel bad for him at the end.