Salt Lake Film Society Summer Showdown: The Handmaiden vs Gone Girl

This weekend, I had the pleasure of watching two of the most iconic modern-day, good-for-her films in recent cinema history: Gone Girl and The Handmaiden. Both films scratch that certain itch in delivering shocking twists and turns, amazing direction and engaging female protagonists that you can’t help but root for — their relevance in this hyper-niche genre can’t be overstated. Each film brings something enticing that keeps you intrigued from start to finish; just when you think that you have a handle on the story, it pulls the rug out from under you and recontextualizes everything that you have just watched. So the question remains: How do you compare two masterpieces that, despite some similarities, are so vastly different? Do we compare the filmmaking on its own? The quality of the characters and narrative? The execution of the twists? So many elements go into making a film that picking a victor will be a tight race.

Gone Girl is a psychological thriller that centers around Amy Dunne (Rosamund Pike, Pride & Prejudice, Saltburn) and the lead-up and aftermath of her murder. Her husband, Nick Dunne (Ben Affleck, Air, Armageddon), is the prime suspect, with his apparent disdain for his wife, along with his not-so-secret adulterous behavior, being the main motives for suspicion. As the threads of the mystery start to unravel, so does the facade around who Amy was and her marriage to Nick.

The Handmaiden follows an intriguing plot, machinated by a conman (Ha Jung-woo, Road to Boston, Ashfall) posing as a Count who enlists the help of a young pickpocket named Sook-Hee (Kim Tae-ri, Lost in Starlight) to aid him in seducing Hideko (Kim Min-hee, The Day After), a young, seemingly naive, Japanese heiress. Sook-Hee takes the position of Hideko’s handmaiden and works to convince the young heiress that she has feelings for the Count. However, the more time she spends at Hideko’s side, the stronger their feelings for each other seem to grow. 

Both films showcase the full caliber of each director. David Fincher brings his signature sleek style, giving Gone Girl a calculated, cold quality that perfectly represents who Amy Dunne is. Its shots feel sterile and reminiscent of a procedural, but the simple blocking and composition of each scene keeps the audience engaged. Park Chan-wook, on the other hand, works with a level of precision that elevates the on-screen decadence of the film to a painting you can’t look away from. Each moment is given time to stew and slowly reveal itself to the audience. Both films have an almost voyeuristic quality that feels intentional but is more heavily acknowledged in The Handmaiden, whereas Gone Girl relishes in the crime-thriller angle of the story.

The characters and stories are also exciting to watch. If I have to be honest, I feel that these films are the inverse of each other in these two aspects. I would say that The Handmaiden has the more intriguing plotline, while Gone Girl has more fascinating characters. The Handmaiden is a slow build that comes to a satisfying conclusion. When you try to explain it, you realize just how much was going on, and the revelations of the character’s deceptions feel earned and help you look at the characters in a new way while still cleverly foreshadowing these turns. The film presents twists upon twists that deepen the characters and the world they live in. Moreover, its way of subtly exploring Japanese colonization in Korea by setting it in the 1930s serves to deepen the theme of deception and asking who is truly in control. 

The characters in The Handmaiden are well-written and nuanced, but when it comes to Gone Girl, let’s just say there is a reason this film has one of the most referenced monologues in cinema history. While the overall story of Gone Girl is anything but by-the-numbers, the true delight comes from peeling back the layers of who Amy Dunne is and getting into her head. With the characters in The Handmaiden, you root for them and their relationship, but you have fully come to know them by the end. Amy, however, still feels like an enigma by the end of the film, thanks in no small part to Pike’s performance — we still want to know more about her by the time the credits roll. While the reveal of both films’ characters recontextualise what we know about them, I feel that Gone Girl’s ability to show Amy as equal parts scheming and vulnerable is noteworthy and keeps us on the edge of our seat.

While I hate to pit two divas against each other, this is a Summer Showdown, which means there needs to be a winner. For me, picking a winner required me to delve into the very essence of what these films are — psychological thrillers. So the question became, which one of these movies lingers in my psyche? And the answer has to be Gone Girl. Both films should be experienced — especially The Handmaiden for Pride Month — but Gone Girl fills you with equal parts thrill and awe as you see the pieces come together. —Angela Garcia

Read more film reviews by Angela Garcia:
Film Review: I Love Boosters
Film Review: Forbidden Fruits

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