In case you weren't aware, David Fincher is a bit of a legend. His career has gone pretty much from strength to strength quite unlike any other, picking up critical, commercial, award and fan-boy recognition along the way, and rarely putting a step wrong. Starting off in the world of music videos - Madonna's "Vogue"? That was him! - it wasn't long before he got his own big screen directorial gig... the much troubled Alien3. While the final vision wasn't exactly what he had in mind, he promptly got back in the game and blew Hollywood away with his stylised and incredibly bleak serial killer thriller Se7en.
Since then, he's gone back and forth between pure entertainment and pushing forward the technological envelop, all with his trademarked stamp of perfectionism with the likes of Panic Room, The Game, The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button, Zodiac and The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. He's even gone back to music videos now and again - Justin Timberlake's "Suit & Tie"? That was him! - as well as bringing his classy capabilities to TV by co-producing House Of Cards on HBO, as well as directing some of the episodes for the series.
On October 2nd, we'll finally see Fincher return to the big screen with his tenth theatrical release, Gone Girl. Based on the hugely successful novel, this sees Ben Affleck play a loving husband who comes home to his wife, played by Rosamund Pike, on their fifth anniversary, only to find their home completely upturned, blood everywhere and Pike missing. Promptly becoming the prime suspect, Affleck continues to plead his innocence, even after the police discover Pike's diary, which paints a very different picture of their happy marriage...
Anyone who has read the book will know there are plenty of twists and turns along the way, but even those who know the outcome won't be able to predict the movie's climax, as Fincher has worked with Gone Girl's author Gillian Flynn to cook up an entirely new third act for the movie.
To celebrate the release of Gone Girl, as well as the brilliance of David Fincher in general, we here at entertainment.ie are running a competition for fans to vote for your favorite Fincher movie, and the movie with the most votes will be shown at a special entertainment.ie David Fincher movie screening night in Cineworld Cinemas Dublin on Wednesday, September 24th.
The movies you can choose from are as follows:
FIGHT CLUB
Adapted from the incendiary book by Chuck Pahlinuk, this was released 15 years ago (Yikes, we're getting old!), and still has the same power and clout it had back then. Edward Norton is an insomniac office drone who crosses paths with Brad Pitt's genius/lunatic, they start a fight club... although we really feel like we shouldn't be talking about it. Ignored by audiences and disliked by critics upon release, it found it's true calling on DVD where it was re-discovered as the modern classic it truly is. And just like Gone Girl, the book and the movie have different endings. (The book's ending is even more bonkers, if you can believe that.)
SE7EN
After the fallout of Alien3 was laid at Fincher's feet, he plucked himself up and decided to show what he can REALLY do. So teaming up with Brad Pitt for the first time, along with Morgan Freeman and Gwyneth Paltrow, we end up with one of the darkest, most violent, and horrifyingly morbid serial killer thrillers ever made. One of those movies that you really feel like you need to take a shower after you watch it, Se7en absolutely gets under your skin and was Fincher's first waltz with the nasty world of murderers; something he's revisited again and again since. The less we say about this one the better, because if you haven't seen it yet, some of the surprises in store are sure to take your head clean off.
THE SOCIAL NETWORK
The second time Fincher was nominated for Best Director (after Benjamin Button), but unfairly losing to Tom Hooper for The King's Speech, The Social Network is probably the most incendiary movie in his filmography. Dealing with the inception of Facebook, but really tackling the modern reinterpretation of the American Dream, this Fincher is firing on all cylinders: pulling career best performances from Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield and Justin Timberlake, introducing the world to the greatness of Rooney Mara, working perfectly in sync with Aaron Sorkin's surgical strike of a screenplay and Trent Reznor's pulsing electronic score.... It's next to impossible to fault this movie. Like.
Cast your VOTE for your favourite David Fincher movie & join us at our special screening night.