Gone Girl - Review

Amy Dunne (Rosamund Pike), a NYC-to-Missouri transplanted writer and the inspiration for a popular children's book character "Amazing Amy", goes missing one afternoon. Thanks to the 24-hour news media and many significant clues, the likely perpetrator is her husband Nick (Ben Affleck), who displays awkward behavior in front of the cameras, crowds, and the police and has the most to gain from Amy's disappearance. GONE GIRL had a lot of hype around it thanks to the mammoth popularity of the original novel and its film adaptation has passed the test with flying colors, preferably all in shades of crimson red. This is an amazing pulpy thriller that keeps you on your toes; each twist, turn and piece of narration piles up the suspense into a massive tower up to the very last chilling shot, with no chance of ever falling down thanks to original author Gillian Flynn's own script duties. Plus, in a noteworthy departure from director David Fincher's usual fingerprints, i.e. 15 years since FIGHT CLUB, this movie possesses a great brush of black comedy throughout it, allowing the audience to breath a little easier and letting the characters to be fresh and knowledgable of their current predicament.


Now I must hamper any further plot discussion, in order to keep those still in the dark away from spoiler talk or figuring out the puzzle before their screening begins. So let's run through the workers who brought their A-game: Fincher's direction is of course stellar; Jeff Cronenweth once again operates Fincher's camera in order to craft ominous frames of terror and deliberately ugly lighting schemes; The entire cast is worthy of praise, with Affleck and especially Pike delivering some impeccable performances; and Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross write out a familiar sounding but still bitterly cold score that knows when to lay low and then firmly stand itself out. My only small issue with the final product was with Kirk Baxter's editing. Third time wasn't the charm completely for him, as all of the off-putting fades as well as the Sonic-the-Hedgehog-fast opening credits detract a bit from the criminal proceedings. That being said, he does cut together and showcase some great moments of tension and short laughs, to further help make GONE GIRL a true must-see of 2014.


FINAL REVIEW: 5 / 5