Gone Girl Poster Deconstruction

This is the first official poster for David Fincher's 2014 thriller based on the novel Gone Girl written by Gillian Flynn.

As we can see the majority of the poster is taken up by the image of the sky, and Amy's eyes in it. Nick Dunne, her husband is placed at the bottom of the image, looking small and vulnerable compared to Amy's huge eyes above him. The poster is predominantly a blue/grey shade, with a white cloud shadowing parts of the title. The film focuses on lies and deceit which is likely why the cloud was placed in the centre. The top of the poster is the darkest- a navy blue- which may represent Amy's dark plans and twisted ways. The figure of Nick has been slightly distorted- the top half of his body moved slightly left. His life has been torn apart by someone he would never have expected. The truth has been distorted like the image.

The line across the bottom of the image depicts the typical 'Breaking News' bar, that is present on News channels. Although part of the news story title is missing, any one who has read the book, will know what it says and anyone who hasn't can get some sort of understanding from the words 'search' and 'continues'. It would seem that the only word missing is in fact 'Amy' which is probably intentional, as the film (and novel) revolves around Amy, who has gone missing. To fit in with the theme of the media, the sky appears to be more yellow around Nick, which may represent the eyes of the media on him, as the main suspect in his wife's disappearance.

At the top of the poster, small, minimal typography is used, as to not distract from the image. It mentions two other films David Fincher has directed, which automatically attracts fans of those films. In slightly bigger writing, are the names of the two stars playing Nick and Amy Dunne. Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike are famous actors, which draws attention. If they weren't so well known, it would be unlikely that their names would be so noticeable.

The text at the bottom is all quite minimal also. The names of the cast and producers are in a pale grey colour as is the website and hashtag used to promote the movie. The release date is bolder and darker than the rest of the text as this is a vital piece of information people need to know.

A series of other posters was also created to further promote the film. These have an almost comical tone that those who know the plot will understand. The 'Happy Anniversary' is of course ironic. Each of the posters depicts a prop from the film, while giving away more clues about the narrative.

Whereas the colour scheme of the first poster is full of cold tones- these posters are the opposite. The colour red is used on the evidence bags as well as the lingerie which signifies the sexual explicitness of the film- it is rated 18. The dark wood that each item is placed on as well as the photo which is predominantly black, give a sinister tone that is also present in the original poster. These posters are more conventional of a sexually explicit thriller. This makes it apparent that movie posters can be completely different but be just as effective.