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...