Gone Girl Review

Director: David Fincher
Starring: Rosamund Pike, Ben Affleck, Neil Patrick Harris, Tyler Perry, Patrick Fugit, 
Running time: 145 minutes
Rating: 18 


The much anticipated film based on the highly successful thriller by entertainment writer turned novelist Gillian Flynn is finally here. But does it live up to the hype?

Gone Girl tells the story of the disappearance of Amy Dunne (Rosamund Pike) and the unravelling of her marriage to Nick (Ben Affleck) as their lives and dirty laundry are made public in the midst of a possible murder investigation. Despite the absence of Amy we are shown both sides of the married couple's story, with the film cutting between voiced over flashbacks from Amy's journal to Nick's day to day from the morning she's gone.

While the film centres around the disappearance "Amazing" Amy, it delves into a lot of themes that can occur around the downfall of a modern marriage. We see things like recession, family, and affairs getting in the way. But one of the most important themes is the power of the media because with  accusations coming from every angle,  Nick finds himself trying to distance himself away from a "wife killer" hunt and having to attempt to prove his innocence to the community, and to the audience,  without even being arrested.

Fans of the novel will love the depiction as it stays very true to Flynn's original. She also wrote the script, giving her the opportunity to try new things and making slight tweaks to the story, but try not to listen to her interviews, because some parts of the film are word for word. But despite the familiarity Gone Girl and its characters remain wonderfully distant and we find ourselves as an audience taking part in a suspenseful dark dream that never lets us know who to trust.

Our two leads Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike take dark turns in their career with their roles. Pike shines, distancing herself from the English rose and steps up as a perfect vixen who is dragged down by her lesser spouse. It might be a shock for fans of the pair, as the film is raunchier than what either one of them has done before, exploring lust, intimacy and a power struggle.

The film is unmistakably David Fincher, there are moments where the darkness and the Trent Reznor composed soundtrack throws you back to films like The Social Network and Fight Club. With many movies now these day pushing the two hour length, Gone Girl goes for the 2 hour 25 mark without being boring or feeling misguided, it is a very stylish, smart, intense, interesting and mind blowing film.

Gone Girl is incredibly impressive with its ability to cover many character traits, background, and complexities without once feeling out of place and remaining relevant in this one of a kind genre that can only be described as a mix of thriller, romance and noir. Of course a film will never be able to provide us with enough information and detail but Gone Girl manages to leave an incredible amount of background story given all through subtle remarks and to the attention to detail. There are moments where Gone Girl will feel very ridiculous and contrived, but by the end of the film you can see that this is intentional. If there is one thing that Fincher and Flynn can do, it is bringing a WTF exclaimation and a smile to your face all at once.

GONE GIRL IS RELEASED IN CINEMAS OCTOBER 3RD