“Dirty, Gifted and Welsh” / “Gone Girl”

Due to my on-going facilitator training, I arrived late at “Dirty, Gifted and Welsh”, the day-long writer-centred collaboration between Dirty Protest and National Theatre Wales, held at the Angel Hotel in central Cardiff. I was in time to catch a session on the writing process led by Louise Osborne, a vaguely theatre-oriented pub-style quiz, and an intriguing monologue by Miranda Roszkowski. Things seemed to have quietened down a bit by the time of the evening performances of the Rapid Response plays, one of which, “Effete” was my short comedy about gay marriage. It seemed to go down well, though – plenty of laughs, almost all of them intended. The general impression was of a fulfilling day for all concerned.

I went to see David Fincher’s “Gone Girl”, having read Gillian Flynn’s best-selling novel a few months ago and completely forgotten at least one vitally important plot point; this only served to enhance my enjoyment, however. The screenplay is by Flynn herself, thus the source material’s cynical take on lies and manipulation within relationships remains intact. Ben Affleck, as the man accused of his missing wife’s murder dials down his trademark shiftiness in order to appear genuinely perplexed; and Rosamund Pike is a revelation as the multi-faceted Amy. The film does slightly outstay its welcome once the more sensational elements of the plot have played out, but the performances remain cherishable.