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17 out of 19 people found the following comment useful :-
pretty good, 22 August 2007
Author: Agnelin

I didn't know what to expect from this movie, and knew very little about it; only that it was a thriller, and a bit of the storyline. Now that I've seen it, I have to say I'm very positively impressed.

The movie follows Brits Alex and Sophie on a road trip around Australia. They've both agreed to meet in Australia, and, before they do so, Alex has met Taylor, a mysterious American who offers to drive him around. The movie has a very fitting introduction about how the two boys meet in a fun atmosphere, which gradually becomes gloomier and full of menace as we find out about Taylor's dark side.

It's plain to see that the story isn't original at all, but it is very well and efficiently told. As other commenters have pointed out, one of the movie's great points is that Taylor's psychotic personality is revealed subtly and slowly, which makes him all the more believable. Also, while not original, the movie isn't all that predictable and the suspense is very well carried along. The acting is also very good; I especially liked Amelia Warner as Sophie. I also found it remarkable that the settings -it's located in some of Australia's deserts, of extreme and solitary beauty- and the fact that it's almost exclusively based on three characters come together admirably to produce a feeling of isolation, claustrophobia and paranoia.

The only real weak point about the movie is the lack of character development; I was left wanting to know more about them. This, however, didn't stop me from enjoying it. It's a nice little surprise that I recommend to all thriller lovers.

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31 out of 48 people found the following comment useful :-
A study in psychotic behaviour, 11 March 2007
6/10
Author: greene-1 from London, England

In this film a UK couple travelling across Australia, pal up with an easy-going American who turns out to have a 'dark-side'.

This film scores in the respect that the way the American gradually reveals his hidden character is quite subtle. He manipulates the couple into turning against each other and then uses the chasm he creates to perform a divide-and-conquer type operation.

The film falls short in as much the female, as the easily duped girlfriend, isn't quite believable, and seems so gullible that if you told her with a cute smile that her panties were on fire she'd probably go and jump in a lake. Although I think this can be accounted for by the script.

Also the ending is quite silly.

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14 out of 19 people found the following comment useful :-
An Australian outback thriller with potential, but went nowhere, 29 July 2007
5/10
Author: theboltman from Australia

I really wanted to enjoy this movie. I sat down by myself when i was sick and watched it with no interruptions. It was however, ultimately disappointing Other than the main characters not forming well enough for the audience to actually care about them, the movie was so frustrating in so many parts. The storyline is formed around 2 dopey people who are in a relationship that is shabby. There are so many times throughout the movie that if they actually just talked about their feelings OR treated the other person with respect and showed some trust, the entire plot would have fallen apart. (but than we wouldn't have a movie) So what we end up with is a movie that has a plot, although quite shallow, based on characters that are annoying.

If it wasn't so frustrating, it could have gotten a 7, but instead it gets a 5/10, and that is being generous

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10 out of 14 people found the following comment useful :-
Pointless, 11 March 2007
2/10
Author: silver_hedgehog from United Kingdom

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

I can't fathom the point of this film. It's one of those films that if you've watched the trailer beforehand then there are no new or interesting twists or turns to look forward to. The plot development is plodding and predictable. The ending is no surprise. Character development was poor; I really didn't care what happened to any of them. The isolation of and focus on the three central characters created a huge plausibility issue for me. Especially when the character Alex was ill in the motel room suspecting that he had been poisoned. Surely he or his girlfriend would call for help – everybody's heard of the flying doctor service. Instead it's all left to the Taylor character to sort. The opportunities for interesting cinematography of the Australian landscape were not taken up. All in all a wasted trip to the cinema.

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10 out of 15 people found the following comment useful :-
Who paid whom to make this movie?, 1 July 2007
4/10
Author: Julius Thyssen from Amsterdam, The Netherlands

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

Strangest lamer-movie I've seen in quite some time. I'm surprised it got through to world audiences and nobody was ashamed if it would. Looks like an average film-student's final exam project or something.

The first questions you ask, when looking at this movie, are: Why are they traveling in Australia, and why are they traveling together? I mean really, they don't seem to remotely like each other. Or the outback. And honestly, what's there to like about any of them? Two spoiled little idiot drug-using alcoholics somehow end up in the same car, and the viewer is supposed to care? The only remotely likable character is the girl. But she ruins that by behaving just as stupid as her whore boyfriend did and then accidentally saves herself being a hysterical idiot with a lot of dumb luck.

Douglas Coupland said it best, when he wrote: "I'm holding an 'I Don't Give A Sh*t'-o-meter and the needle's not moving."

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8 out of 12 people found the following comment useful :-
Surprisingly good, 14 November 2007
6/10
Author: sophiewessberg from Sweden

Gone sure is a surprise - I didn't expect it to be as good. The soundtrack is almost perfect. All of the actors are good, but Scott Mechlowicz in particular. I first discovered him in Mean Creek (2005), and I must admit that although his character in Gone isn't nearly as moving and interesting, he delivers a solid performance that almost makes me sympathize with Taylor.

The pacing is somewhat off, and unfortunately, the suspenseful beginning is quickly brought to an end towards the end of the movie where the clicheés line up and actually make me cringe. The last twenty minutes, Gone transforms into a typical horror film, which is a shame, since the story does have potential in the beginning.

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Gone with the windscreen, 27 October 2009
Author: dbdumonteil

This is one of the many movies called "gone" made in 2007.This one is a road movie (Australia has become a good place to film such flicks of the genre) and even ,a road movie too many.It cannot hold a candle,for instance ,to "Kalifornia" (1993) and the beautiful landscapes and a superb shot of the Australian sky at dawn can't hide what is definitely lacking: a firm screenplay and elements which would have made Taylor an interesting character .The Taylor/Alex relationship revolves around the latter's girlfriend and it's not enough to keep the movie from being derivative .Only the trick of the phone is pretty smart but the average viewer will have guessed what happened long before the ending.An ending in the grand tradition of "Friday the thirteenth" .Nothing new under the Australian sun.

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1 out of 2 people found the following comment useful :-
Creepy, 6 January 2009
7/10
Author: Richard Wheeler from South Africa

A movie with a feeling of being alone as indicated by the beautiful vegetation of Australia's desert region and feelings of being gone; being so far away from everyone and everywhere for anyone to hear your screams. Again, there is such beauty with scenes of sunsets and vegetation; but it is a perfect time for murder and mystery to begin and spoil the lot! In the beginning of this movie,it seems that one would not expect violence to come in between the characters, but soon; creepy sexual signs develop which can be fatal. Silence is common. And there is such an eerie feeling that someone is going to be trapped in the back of that shambolic 4 wheel-drive.

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10 out of 21 people found the following comment useful :-
Another poor attempt to make a horror/thriller, 15 July 2007
3/10
Author: Amy-Jane from United Kingdom

Another poor attempt to make a horror/thriller.This movie actually starts of OK moving very slowly along but keeping you watching because you want to find out more I thought this film was going to be a good horror/thriller going in to detail about 'Taylors' dark side but it tells you nothing not why he is the way he is or why he does what he does and has a predictable ending which I have seen in movies an endless amount of times before. I don't recommend this film unless you want to waste 90 minutes of your life there was a story here it could have worked if a little more thought had gone into how they was going to draw the film to an end and finding out about 'Taylors' dark side this may have been another cliché horror of psycho in some deserted place killing victims with no explanation of why. The acting was poor, the characters were dumb and unrealistic and you wouldn't actually get any signal in a deserted desert in the outbacks of Australia. I rate this movie 3/10 because it started of OK and kept you watching just a shame they ruined it by making it like most other horror films.

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20 out of 41 people found the following comment useful :-
A commendable directorial debut from Ringan Ledwidge, 7 March 2007
7/10
Author: bigjohnny7 from Manchester, England

Gone, despite the lame title, is an enjoyable film from first time director Ringan Ledwidge.

A very underplayed thriller revolving around the relationship between a backpacking British couple and a suspicious American, I found the film refreshing for managing to avoid the same traps that most films of this genre stumble with.

The catalyst of the film - the relationship between the two male leads - was handled delicately, full of nuance, and was almost Hitchcockian in its building of suspense.

As the events of the film are comparable to the recent Peter Falconio / Joanne Lees case, it would have been advisable to set the film elsewhere - especially since the vast expanse of the Australian outback has been seen too recently in films like John Hillcoat's 'The Proposition' and Phillip Noyce's 'Rabbit Proof Fence'. A possible alternative for the location of the film could have been New Zealand's South Island - picturesque, isolated, and just as popular with backpackers as Australia.

I was lucky enough to see a preview screening of the film, followed by a Q&A session with Ringan Ledwidge and Amelia Warner. Definitely one to watch, Warner could be a future English rose of the film industry (especially if she manages to avoid wearing orange lamé blouses in public!). Watch this space!

Elsewhere on this site, there is mention of the film being a rip-off of Dead Calm. Although I can see the similarities, Gone is a much more intriguing film. Although the two films deal with the same issues, I see Dead Calm as a popcorn film for the masses. Gone, on the other hand, is much more cerebral and perfect for an audience who appreciates attention to detail.

I would definitely recommend this film to friends.

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