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Even a decade after its release, Gone Girl, the David Fincher thriller, remains a popular movie. The psychological thriller draws inspiration from writer Gillian Flynn’s 2012 hit novel of the same name. Fincher made the movie two years later, for which Flynn was the playwright.
As such, many readers of the original book and viewers of the movie Gone Girl have wondered whether Flynn’s novel was based on true crime. No, Flynn’s book was not based on any particular true crime event. However, she was inspired by the 2002 Scott and Laci Peterson case, along with some others that she encountered during her career as a journalist.
While the real events of the Peterson's took a different path, Flynn’s novel tried to highlight the role of media frenzy in high-profile cases and how they affect the people involved. Netflix’s latest documentary, titled American Nightmare, exposes a similar case as that of Amy Dunne’s disappearance in Gone Girl.
Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers for both Gone Girl and American Nightmare.
Is Gone Girl based on a real-life incident?
Gone Girl, written by Gillian Flynn, is not a real-life incident. However, a true case inspired writer Flynn, who wanted to draw attention to the effect of media attention on a high-profile case. As mentioned before, Flynn drew inspiration from the 2002 Peterson's case. Just like Amy Dunne in the book and the movie adaptation, Laci Peterson went missing in 2002. The 27-year-old was last known to be at her home on Christmas Eve.
The prime suspect, her husband, Scott Peterson, was seen grieving for the missing wife and the unborn son. Just as in the movie, there was huge tabloid coverage of Peterson’s personal life that revealed marital secrets too.
The intense media scrutiny of the bereaved husband exposed his affair leading up to the disappearance of Laci as well as the financial struggle the family was going through. This raised suspicions of a possible insurance-related motive.
However, unlike Gone Girl, Laci Peterson was found dead with her body washing up ashore on San Francisco Bay, four months after the case was registered. Scott was tried and found guilty of the crime. He was charged with the first-degree murder of his wife, Laci, and the second-degree murder of his unborn son, Connor. While Scott is serving his sentence, in 2020, his death sentence was overruled.
How much is Gone Girl’s story similar to the Petersons’?
In Gone Girl, Nick Dunne and his wife Amy, played by Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike in the movie, are an attractive couple with what looks like a flawless marriage. However, that is far from the truth, as it is revealed later in the story. The marriage starts going downhill when they lose their jobs and relocate to Missouri to care for Nick’s aging mother.
While Amy feels overworked, overused, and neglected, Nick proceeds to have an affair. Both characters grapple with a loss of self-worth and autonomy. Nick's affair seems to be an attempt to alleviate these feelings. Amy, on the other hand, tries to get her autonomy back by meticulously planning to frame her husband for her murder.
The similarity with the Peterson's case ends with the breakdown of the marriage and Nick’s affair. The rest of Flynn's story is fictional. Moreover, Laci was pregnant when she was murdered, while Amy became pregnant at the end of the movie.
The shocking psychological twists are seen in Rosamund Pike’s portrayal of Amy as she goes through a series of manipulations and crimes. When she falls in love with Nick again, she frames another man for the kidnapping and r*pe and kills him. She gets pregnant using Nick’s sperm from the fertility clinic to force him to stay in the marriage, despite his distrust towards her after knowing the truth.
Which other crime has the Gone Girl reference?
The 2015 real kidnapping of Denise Huskins from her home in California and her mysterious return two days later was quoted as being very similar to the Gone Girl-like story. The events covered in Netflix’s true crime series titled American Nightmare cover the events of her abduction, r*pe, and later release. As such, the local Vallejo police refused to believe the incredible story given by Denise and her boyfriend Aaron at the time.
However, months later, a similar attempt and a phone left behind by the culprit took the police to former Marine and disbarred lawyer Matthew Muller. Muller pleaded guilty to his crime against Denise, leading to his sentence of 40 years in prison.
Denise and Aaron sued the Vallejo police and received a $3.2 million settlement followed by an apology from them. The couple, now married, have two daughters.
