Is Amy a "Femme Fatale" Figure in Modern Times?
Amy Dunne is a character that carries a great deal of controversy everywhere she is brought up. Her actions in the novel and film are bold and different to how most women are portrayed. People either view her as a strong independent female character, who does whatever she has to to get her way in the world, while others view her as a psychotic woman using a man to motivate her actions. Nonetheless, Amy's character is not one frequently seen in the literary or film world. Amy acts in strategy and plans her every move with meticulous attention to detail. Even when things don’t go accordingly, Amy figures out a way to not only maneuver around obstacles but also make them her strengths. A female character is rarely ever portrayed in such a complex and evil light that somehow demands sympathy from her audience (in the context of the story as well as the audience in reality) and feeds off of that sympathy to further her plans. Some people argue that Amy is a “Femme Fatale”, which puts this intricate character full of surprises and twists into a box. This character was very famous during the rise of the Film Noir. The character development alone of Amy’s character is an astonishing one. Here is a clip of both opening and closing scenes from Gone Girl. This is how the author as well as the scriptwriter, Gillian Flynn wrote these two scenes: Opening scene:
INT. BEDROOM - SOMETIME
We see the back of AMY DUNNE’S HEAD, resting on a pillow.
NICK (V.0.)
I picture cracking her lovely
skull, unspooling her brain,
Nick runs his fingers into Amy’s hair.
NICK (V.0.)
Trying to get answers.
He twirls and twirls a lock, a screw tightening.
NICK (V.0.)
The primal questions of a marriage:
What are you thinking? How are you
feeling? What have we done to each
other?
AMY wakes, turns, gives a look of alarm.
Closing scene: INT. BEDROOM - NIGHT 273
They lie down side by side on the marital bed. Nick is
staring at the back of ~Iny’s head, just as in the opening.
NICK (O.S.)
What are you thinking? How are you
feeling? What have we done to each
other? What will we do?
Amy turns, and gives him a haunting SMILE
FADE TO BLACK
According to the Merriam Webster Dictionary, there are two definitions of a Femme Fatale: “1: a seductive woman who lures men into dangerous or compromising situations. 2: a woman who attracts men by an aura of charm and mystery”. The Femme Fatale character usually acts solely to disrupt a man’s life, and as stated in the definition above, she attracts men by an aura of charm and mystery. This is true in some instances, however the major differing factor, that Amy understands this character trope, and preys on it. In the sense that it is presumed, and mentioned that everything she is doing is to frame Nick. But upon the second examination of Amy’s childhood, her motives lean more on deeply rooted psychological issues she is projecting on Nick. In a Youtube video named Gone Girl Video Essay by Christine Nguyen, she explores the different camera angles and positions of Amy differ from the two-dimensional Film Noir’s Femme Fatale characters.
References:
Forouzan, Elham, and David J. Cooke. “Figuring Outla Femme Fatale: Conceptual and Assessment Issues Concerning Psychopathy in Females.” Behavioral Sciences & the Law, vol. 23, no. 6, 2005, pp. 765–778., doi:10.1002/bsl.669.