Gone Girl (2014) Review

Time: 149 Minutes
Age Rating:
Cast: Graphic violence, offensive language and sex scenes
Ben Affleck as Nick Dunne
Rosamund Pike as Amy Dunne
Neil Patrick Harris as Desi Collings
Tyler Perry as Tanner Bolt
Carrie Coon as Margo Dunne
Director: David Fincher

On the occasion of his fifth wedding anniversary, Nick Dunne (Ben Affleck) reports that his wife, Amy (Rosamund Pike), has gone missing. Under pressure from the police and a growing media frenzy, Nick’s portrait of a blissful union begins to crumble. Soon his lies, deceits and strange behaviour have everyone asking the same dark question: Did Nick Dunne kill his wife?

David Fincher has always been one of my favourite directors, he is one of those directors who can always impress me with any movie he makes, so of course I was excited to see his next film: Gone Girl. With this film he puts all of his talents into work with his direction, along with the acting from a great cast, which is superb from everyone. Gone Girl is a great movie and one of Fincher’s best films. If you haven’t seen Gone Girl, see it as soon as possible before the plot is spoiled for you.

Gone Girl is based on the book of the same name and the script is adapted by the author, Gillian Flynn. The story takes many twists and turns and is never predictable. I honestly can’t talk too much about the plot as it is very easy to spoil. I will say this, the marketing of this movie was done very well and doesn’t spoil anything. On the outside, Gone Girl is a mystery movie but calling it just a mystery movie doesn’t really do it justice, there is so much more to it (which I won’t spoil). Despite the movie being 2 and a half hours long I was always interested in what was going on, and it helps that the film was well paced so the story could develop properly. Another great thing were the themes throughout the movie, whether it be of marriage or the media and how people perceive it. The movie has quite a bleak tone but every so often punctuates it with some well-placed dark comedy. One thing that I have noticed that has divided viewers is the ending. Without spoiling anything, I’ll say I personally liked it. In the hands of a lesser filmmaker, this film may not have succeeded, this type of story was best suited for David Fincher to direct.

The acting in this movie was great from everyone and everyone is well cast. Ben Affleck was brilliant in this movie, this is probably the best performance I’ve seen from him. He is just so subtle in his role and he was really convincing as a man under heavy scrutiny from the media. The same goes for Rosamund Pike, who is absolutely fantastic in this movie and steals every scene she’s in. I can’t go into too much detail why her performance is so good, you’ll just have to watch it for yourself to see why. Tyler Perry was surprisingly very good in this movie, great to see him in a different role from Madea. In Gone Girl he plays Nick Dunne’s lawyer and does such a good job and in a few scenes he stole the show. Other actors such as Neil Patrick Harris and Carrie Coon are also great in their roles.

DF-05063_05054_COMP5 — Rosamund Pike portrays Amy Dunne, whose mysterious disappearance turns her husband into a possible murder suspect.

David Fincher is a masterful visual director, it shows in all of his movies and Gone Girl is no exception. The scenes are shot beautifully and are meticulously crafted as much as possible. Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross’s score was excellent and really fitted in with the tone of the movie. Great credit should also go to the editing, another strength of Fincher. Everything that happens on screen really fits, whether it be with the music or anything else.

Gone Girl is one of David Fincher’s best films, I have yet to see a bad movie from him. The story is so interesting and captivating that you’ll be guessing at every turn what would happen next. Fincher, Flynn and the rest of the people involved have created a fantastic mystery movie that is worth checking out and it’s one of the best movies of 2014.

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