Ben Affleck
Rosamund Pike
Neil Patrick Harris
Tyler Perry
Carrie Coon
Kim Dickens
Patrick Fugit

Gillian Flynn

149 mins.
Drama, Mystery, Thriller
October 3, 2014

Rated R for a scene of bloody violence, some strong sexual content/nudity, and language. (MPAA)

“Gone Girl” opens with Ben Affleck’s voice-over as Nick Dunne, who tells us that he wants to crack his wife’s skull to get to what she’s thinking. We see his wife, Amy Dunne (played by Rosamund Pike), looking up at him as she lays on his ribs. Then, the opening credits flash onscreen only to quickly fade away. This is a David Fincher film, everyone! It’s appropriately cool, though not quite cold. But you’ll feel cold when it’s over. And Fincher wants us to know that what we think we know will quickly fade away only to return as something else. His dark, crisp style is a great fit for this film, which is based on the book of the same name by Gillian Flynn. Flynn also wrote this film’s screenplay. She did a wonderful job of adapting her novel. There are some great lines here:

“They disliked me; they liked me; they hated me; and, now, they love me.” —Nick Dunne

“We’re so cute, I want to punch us in the face.” —Amy Dunne

“I’m so sick of being picked apart by women.” —Nick

“You befriend an idiot.” —Amy

Nick says, “All we did was hurt each other and resent each other and cause each other pain.” Amy replies, “That’s marriage.”

In addition to smart writing, the transitions from scene to scene are efficient. This is vital for a film that relies on flashbacks. Those flashbacks are seamlessly integrated. Nothing’s wasted. The whole film is like that: the writing, the shots, the cuts, etc. That says a lot for a 2 1/2-hour film.

Furthermore, the pacing is expert. There’s no air in between the lines, no unnecessary pauses. If they pause, it’s for a reason; and they never pause for too long. Everything’s in rhythm – thank you David Fincher!

Even the sounds of New York City and the Missouri town that the Dunnes move to (Nick’s hometown) are perfectly used. We hear the sounds of traffic, the click of cameras, the activity of insects at night, and so on. Those sounds blend in with the dialogue at times, too. It brings those scenes to life. The music by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, who worked with Fincher before (“The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”), is new age and electronic; but it’s not harsh. There’s a smoothness to it that really works. Also, Reznor and Ross use strings, piano, and synths at just the right times.

Just like the book, this film grew on me. Once the story reaches its major shift, it sucks you in. I was leaning in during much of its second half. It’s just so well-made, so well-constructed. Fincher’s craftsmanship has never been better. That craftsmanship extends to the acting, which is unforced and professional. But Fincher has managed to coax performances that aren’t star turns. The characters aren’t presented in the extreme, and they could have been in the wrong hands. Even Amy, who is the very definition of extreme, comes across as coldly logical.

The two leads, Affleck and Pike, fit well together. Pike’s dialect seemed a bit conspicuous to me (she is British, after all), but that sort of works here. It works for the character: This film is all about façades. Affleck is perfectly casted in this role, but he doesn’t stay on voice in certain moments. His first confrontation scene with his sister highlights this; she’s on voice, he’s not. I wasn’t too bothered by that, though.

“Gone Girl” is a film that’s ruthlessly committed to its story, to its source material. It’s the kind of story that’s designed to make you cringe, to make you feel uncomfortable. It’ll leave you feeling empty, and it will outrage many: For example, many have criticized it and the book as misogynist. I think that it’s more complicated than that, though.

Well done.

Verdict: Very, Very Good

About: (Source: gonegirlmovie)

GONE GIRL – directed by David Fincher and based upon the global bestseller by Gillian Flynn – unearths the secrets at the heart of a modern marriage. On the occasion of his fifth wedding anniversary, Nick Dunne (Ben Affleck) reports that his beautiful 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 behavior have everyone asking the same dark question: Did Nick Dunne kill his wife?