Gone Girl

Starring: Ben Affleck, Rosamund Pike, Kim Dickens, Carrie Coon
Directed By: David Fincher
Reviewed by Brendan Dousi

[Rating: 4.5/5] 

It’s hard to fully review a film like David Fincher’s Gone Girl. The plot and story of the film are steeped in such mystery that even the slightest hints of what happen could completely spoil the story for you. That is, unless you’ve read the book by Gillian Flynn (who doubles as the film’s screenwriter) but let’s face it, who reads books anymore? So, in the sport of leaving your mysteries mysterious I am going to be as precise as possible while also being incredibly vague.

Nick Dunne (Ben Affleck) is a little sick of his wife Amy Dunne (Rosamund Pike), their marriage seeming to have gone down-hill a little in its fifth year. On the morning of their Anniversary, Nick goes down to have a drink at the bar he co-owns with his twin sister Margo (Carrie Coon) before getting a call that there has been a break-in at his house. Nick gets home to see evidence of a struggle in his house and no sign of his wife Amy. After he calls the police it’s not long before Detective Rhonda Boney (Kim Dickens) has found enough evidence to elevate this to a missing person case. Nick continues to work with Detective Boney to try and find his missing wife, but will his increasingly suspicious behaviour shine a light on him as the prime suspect for his wife’s disappearance?

Gone Girl is a surprising film on a number of levels, I’m not sure why but I expected a rather straight-forward thriller mystery going into the theatre. I feel a little stupid, because coming out I went “Oh right, it’s David Fincher!” The story presented here is very engaging and entertaining with just the right splash of slightly camp humour. It’s not quite a thriller and not quite a drama, but somewhere in between that strikes a perfect balance thanks to Fincher’s masterful atmospheric tones and nuances. This film truly is beautiful and strikes an imposing, cold and realist mise-en-scene with huge props going to cinematographer Jeff Cronenweth who absolutely nailed it out of the park. Also nailing it is every single actor in this film. To be honest, a lot of characters in this film are pretty despicable, but the performances brought it all together and made you engaged in these people on screen, despite kind of hating them at the same time. Often in films like this there are performances of side characters that stand above the rest, but it’s safe to say that the stars of this film really shone, both Rosamund Pike and Ben Affleck giving their career best.

This all said Gone Girl is a hefty expenditure of time running at around 150 minutes. Most of this time is spent very well, with wonderfully deliberate pacing that slowly meanders through the world and the story. This pace, however, starts to drag on a little too much towards the end of the second act where you might find yourself wandering off or thinking “Yeah, yeah, get to the point already!”. There’s actually a point in the film where you might find yourself thinking that it’s over and things are wrapping up, but that’s just the halfway point so don’t be fooled. This is a minor blemish, though, on what is mostly a beautifully crafted and entertaining film.

If you’re up for an engaging, intriguing and clever experience of equal parts drama and thriller that may just throw you for a loop, then this is definitely right up your alley.  Fincher has crafted a near immaculate slow-burn that will constantly have you guessing both yourself and the characters on screen. There hasn’t been a thriller/drama this good in a very long time people; I definitely recommend checking it out.