Gone Girl - How Amy Dunne Manipulated Everyone

This video essay analyzes and explains the manipulation strategies of Amy Dunne in Gone Girl (20th Century Fox). Amy Dunne is a psychopathic manipulator. But to understand why she is the way she is, we need to look at her childhood, as well as her character history with other relationships to grasp her needs. Amy Dunne understands how to manipulate the police and the media to trap her husband Nick in a living nightmare. She is the ultimate pupper master. Let's analyze how and why she does it.

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Music used:
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Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
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Doll Dancing by Puddle of Infinity (YouTube Audio Library)
Falling Rain by Myuu (YouTube Audio Library)
Landing On a Dark Planet by Doug Maxwell/Media Right Productions (YouTube Audio Library)

Timestamps:
0:00 Why Amy Dunne Manipulates
4:50 How Amy Dunne Manipulates

#gonegirl #amydunne #rosamundpike

[trekgreenwood]

IMO what made Gone Girl a hit story-wise is how it touched on an aspect of relationships most people don't cover... putting on masks during a relationship. What happens when you're so tired of showing your best self during those early years. What happens when you start to get comfortable, and your true self starts to come out, flaws and all.

[laneythelame]

I will never get tired of Gone Girl breakdowns, one of the best adaptations of all time

[ahmedrkiza]

Aaah yes, Ben Affleck and his miserable marriages.

[qjames]

Just finished the book. The movie was a fantastic adaptation, and Rosamund Pike truly brought this character to life. Probably the scariest believable character I've encountered in fiction

[ajtaylor]

The characterization of Amy Dunne, combined with the brilliant performance from Rosamund Pink, makes this one of the most well realized characters in recent memory. Her "Cool Girl" voiceover monologue shows her fatal flaw: her need to be the perfect wife to Nick, as well as the ideal person to everyone else.

[globetrekker]

12:01 “She impregnates herself” is a statement that perfectly describes Amy. If possible, she would have cloned herself— the Real Amy, not the Amazing Amy

[benyijohnson]

It's worth mentioning that Amy found a new interest in Nick when he was able to seduce the media in his one-on-one interview. The one she was watching avidly while eating ice cream next to Desi, furthering the point made in this video about Amy not caring about the truth.

[YeOlGamer]

i love how the author of this book after seeing the movie was concerned it would impact feminism. she wrote an amazing book and her next work Sharp Objects is even more incredible!

[PetiteLiterature]

The entire book and movie is such a fascinating insight into the psychology of relationships and just how dark things can get

[PaulRWorthington]

I like the take that while she was a manipulative psychopath, Amy was also her husband's salvation because his greatest fear was becoming mediocre like his father — and that is where he was headed. At the end, she makes it clear that she expects him to excel and live up to her Illusions, and if he doesn't play along forever she'll again implicate him. Great motivation!

[imaginnova]

7:21 "as this allows us to morally posture our virtues on the corpse of their reputation."
bro, brilliant writing. that hits a moving target on a highwire

[SaraStarlight-swlb]

Amy looks/acts like a normal person to everyone and that was enough for people to see her as human at surface level.
She acts like the way people see her as a harmless woman which is terrifying.
a person wouldn't think she is capable of being a killer until it was too late to escape her trap like a predator to their prey.
Amy tricked us the audience to feel sympathetic for her is a scary thought.

[mlwz]

This is one of my all-time favorite movies, she deserve to ask her nomination for this role!!

[yougotnojams]

Note: don’t watch this movie for the first time whilst high. I still feel like Amy is hiding in my closet with a box cutter

[veggiesarefruits]

Great analysis! What sticks out to me is the theme of identity. Amy (thanks to her upbringing) has no sense of personal identity. I have this same problem, so I understand it well. ACT therapy helped me, dramatically, by causing me to recognize that all of my core values, ARE my identity. My psychologist had me make a list of my most important personal values, that I can always look back on when I'm feeling like changing my behaviors to give people the version of myself that they want to see. Amy isn't the only one presenting false identities to others in the film. Nick does this a lot, most notably during the first interview, and at the interview toward the end of the film. Amy's parents showcase their false identities during the press conference, and throughout their lives by creating the daughter they want to have, in their books. The journalist is also fake in the interview, then changes her identity when Nick moves the interview in a different direction. The girl Amy meets at the hotel pretends to be her friend, then shows who she really is by robbing her. Then we have Amy's friend, who she calls in order to stay at his place. He first pretends to care about Amy, but reveals himself to be a controlling person, who is using her circumstances for his own gain. The only person in the film who never gives a fake identity, is Nick's twin sister. She never changes. She always tells Nick the truth, even when he doesn't want to hear it.

[azkill_]

This video is amazing. Some videos here on YouTube pose as an "analysis" when it's more like a recap, but this one is an ACTUAL analysis.

[t]

Your videos about manipulation in pop culture make life so much better.

[Aerie]

I love this movie. Amy’s Cool Girl monologue is one of all time favorites from a film. The way Amy is able to manipulate everyone was absolutely masterful.

[findlaura]

One of the most underdiscussed films of all time. Puzzles me why no one brings this up or talks about this movie, so thanks for doing a video on it. There is SOOOO MUCH thematically going on in this film, so much to dive into. I saw it in theaters and was blown away. maybe best movie of the 2010s decade? Either this or Whiplash (both same year funnily enough), but Whiplash has plenty of discussion already. I like seeing more of this movie on YT.

[drartemisa]

I was slightly disappointed not to hear the take on Nick also actually wanting to stay. Its been touched on by Margot in the movie and more explicitly in the book but ive only ever seen one video talking about. He's not the same level but definitely fucked up as well