Gone Girl (2014), by Gillian Flynn NICK: Let me say this: I am not a killer. But I’m far from being a good guy. I was a bad husband to a wonderful wife. I broke the vow I made to her. SHARON: What does that mean to you, Nick? NICK: It means I was basically a con artist. I met Amy Elliott seven years ago and I was transfixed. Amy does that. I was an average guy from an average place with mediocre aspirations, and I met this woman who dazzled me. And I wanted her to love me. I pretended to be better than I was. I made a pledge to her, when we married, to be that man. The man who tries harder. The man who thinks and acts and feels with as much passion as she does. The man who makes her happy. And I failed her. Instead of doing what was right, I did what was easy. SHARON: You talk like a man who believes he can still make amends to his wife. Who believes his wife is still alive. NICK: She is alive. SHARON: OK, then. What would you like to say to your wife tonight? NICK: Amy, I love you. You are the best person I have ever known. I have taken myself to the woodshed over the way I treated you. Come home and I will spend the rest of my life making it up to you. I will be the man I promised you I’d be. Please come home. Dialogue on dialogue: This is a tricky scene because in the context of the movie, his words are both true and false. Nick is angry and lying here, but he has to pull it together enough to convince Amy that he’s sincere. He hates her and resents her, but there’s also some truth in what he’s saying about their relationship and the part he played. It’s ultimately what makes it such an interesting story. Couldn’t find a clip, but here’s a trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ym3LB0lOJ0o