MovieChat Forums > Gone Girl (2014) Discussion > Plot hole, inconsistancy

Plot hole, inconsistancy

posted 8 years ago by jmsocool
8 replies | jump to latest

I questioned this when I read the book, and the movie doesn't seem to explain it. Amy bought the used car, for cash, from a Craigslist ad. Doesn't there have to be a change of title/registration? If I buy a car, I want the title, otherwise, the seller can report the car stolen, I get arrested, the seller gets the car back, and keeps my money. If I'm the seller, I want the title transferred, so that if there's an accident, or the car is used in a crime, I can say "Hey, not my car, I sold it to this guy".

And if Amy was buying a car that was stolen, she's putting a target on her back that can get her into a lot of trouble.

I realize this is a relatively minor point, compared to other issues, but in real crimes, the criminal is sometimes caught due to minor details (I believe the Son of Sam was caught due to unpaid parking tickets).

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[–] justanicknamed 8 years ago

Yeah, that is a small issue, but nothing that can't be over-looked. She bought it, got the title and just didn't register it. The guy seemed a little shady so he probably makes deals like that all of the time.

My question is, "Where did she keep the car?" It would have to be close by, but a beater car like that is going to draw suspicion sitting in that neighborhood. And, if it is in a parking lot, the cops will ticket it if it is sitting in the same spot for a long time.

[–] jenna-side 8 years ago

This bit from the novel offers much more exposition on Amy and her car:

I smile again as I shift my crappy getaway car into fifth gear (Carthage now seventy-eight miles in the dust) and brace myself for a speeding truck – the car seems ready to take flight every time a semi passes. But I do smile, because this car shows just how smart I am: purchased for twelve hundred dollars cash from a Craigslist posting. Five months ago, so the memory wouldn’t be fresh in anyone’s mind. A 1992 Ford Festiva, the tiniest, most forgettable car in the world. I met the sellers at night, in the parking lot of a WalMart in Jonesboro, Arkansas. I took the train down with a bundle of cash in my purse – eight hours each way, while Nick was on a boys’ trip (and by boys’ trip, I mean *beep* the slut). I ate in the train’s dining car, a clump of lettuce with two cherry tomatoes that the menu described as a salad. I was seated with a melancholy farmer returning home after visiting his baby granddaughter for the first time.

The couple selling the Ford seemed as interested in discretion as I. The woman remained in the car the whole time, a pacifiered toddler in her arms, watching her husband and me trade cash for keys (that is the correct grammar, you know: her husband and me). Then she got out and I got in. That quick. In the rearview mirror, I saw the couple strolling into WalMart with their money. I’ve been parking it in long-term lots in St. Louis. I go down twice a month and park it somewhere new. Pay cash. Wear a baseball cap. Easy enough.

[–] JaneThree 8 years ago

Oh right, so Amy buys a used car. And saves up 10k in cash over a year by stashing away a little bit at a time. I forgot about the cash for the car. That's even more cash Amy couldn't possibly have saved up.

No way. She and Nick don't have 10k of spare change, tip jar contents and loose bills to sneak away that he wouldn't miss - things are very tight.

[–] Rayvio 8 years ago

she told Nick that she gave her trust fund back to her parents
we never learn if that was the truth or not. quite possibly she only gave them half what she told Nick and she hid the rest for herself

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[–] bron-tay 8 years ago

The conflict is that Amy claims to be so careful about avoiding exposure that she "ages" the diary pages, spills a gallon of her own blood in the kitchen, squirrels away money for a year, etc., and then drives across country in an unregistered vehicle. That didn't work out so well for the guys in Fargo, did it?

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[–] justanicknamed 8 years ago

I get what you are saying, but if she doesn't speed or have an accident, she'll be fine.

Most states have mandatory insurance laws, and something like 35% of drivers don't have insurance. Plus, a significant amount of people don't have driver's licenses.

It isn't an issue until you get caught. Same thing with Amy and her money belt. It wasn't an issue until she dropped it in front of the trailer trash.

[–] witchaphrodite 8 years ago

She didn't spill a gallon of blood. She spilled about a pint. She also didn't drive across the country, she stayed in the same region.

[–] niduberi 8 years ago

I remember reading that Amy said she felt the seller of the car didn't seem like they wanted to be known or seen, like they wanted to keep the transaction hush hush