Film Review: Gone Girl

Director: David Fincher
Starring: Ben Affleck, Rosamund Pike, Tyler Perry, Neil Patrick Harris

Runtime: 149 minutes

Sex, lies and videotape - David Fincher's Gone Girl is a complex thriller about marriage, murder and everything in-between. Oh, and it's easily one of the best films this year.

Set in the dilapidated Midwestern town of Carthage, Missouri, Gone Girl is the much-anticipated adaptation of Gillian Flynn's New York Times bestseller. With Flynn also on screenplay duties and acclaimed director David Fincher (Seven, The Social Network) at the helm, this haunting thriller sees Nick Dunne (Ben Affleck) at the centre of a murder investigation after his wife, Amy (Rosamund Pike), disappears from their home on the day of their anniversary.

Drenched in camera flash and hounded by reporters at his every turn, Nick soon finds himself, and his twin sister Margo (Carrie Coon), at the centre of a media shitstorm. After the initial search for Amy yields nothing, attention turns to Nick - what has happened to 'Amazing Amy'? Does Nick know more than he is letting on, or does ex-boyfriend Desy (Neil Patrick Harris) hold the secret to her disappearance?

Unravelling complex themes of marriage, misogyny, murder and the media, Gone Girl is a really excellent film that, at its core, explores our long-held obsession with sex(es) and scandal. It's also a battleground for numerous readings on gender politics, and like the source text, will leave audiences flitting between two very troubled and unreliable narrators.

It's these interlocking elements that makes Gone Girl 2014's best film yet. It's detailed, but not convoluted. It has something to say, but doesn't force it down your throat. It's the kind of film you need to see with friends, just so you can talk it over afterwards and pick apart the characters and what you took from it.

The central duo, Nick and Amy, are acted perfectly by Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike. Affleck, off the back of impressive roles in his own directorial work (The Town, Argo), gives the best performance of his career by far. Slimy and struggling to keep a hold on his life, Nick may be the most likeable and sympathetic asshole in cinema this decade. Affleck manages to nail this duality well.

However, it's Rosamund Pike who makes the movie her own; much like Andrew Garfield in The Social Network or Rooney Mara in The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, Pike confidently grasps Fincher's morbid fascination with raw and tormented characters, and runs with it. Cold, yet loving, potent yet distant, Pike hammers home the complexity and emotional nuance of Amy whenever she strides into shot. This makes it hard to pick out singular scenes that stand-out, but those drawn from Amy's diary are particularly engaging.

Gone Girl sits at a rather long 149 minutes, but the constant stream of rug pulls means we barely feel the films length. Much like the book, there is a very distinct three act structure to the film - whilst each are gripping in they're own way, I found that the films middle third, where cliffhanger after cliffhanger are thrown at the audience, was the strongest. In fact, I felt the initial set-up was a bit rushed.

Tyler Perry plays Tanner Bolt, a big city lawyer Nick drafts in to craft his media image. Perry was very nearly the best thing about the cast, and he's certainly the funniest (in a very dry, satirical way). On top of that, Kim Dickens and Patrick Fugit provide some great back-and-forth banter as the police duo assigned to finding Amy.

Emily Ratajkowski (a.k.a the only semi-good thing to come out of 'Blurred Lines') plays Andie Hardy, a character harbouring one of Nick's greatest secrets - only, she's quickly relegated to background scenery. I understand that this would've been done to cut runtime, but her presence (and the threat it poses) is never felt as much here as it was in the book. Her's is the only character that comes across as half-arsed. That aside, the supporting cast are pitch perfect; even the smallest of characters (such as Missi Pyle as Fox News-style anchor Ellen Abbott) are fantastic.

Fincher's directorial fingerprints are strewn all over Gone Girl, and as you'd expect, the film looks gorgeous. Each shot feels meticulously thought-out and executed. The crumbling buildings and eerie riverside setting of the movie are wonderfully framed, and when Fincher's direction is once again backed-up by the musical composition of Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, the effect is hair-raisingly chilling.

The Verdict: 10/10

Gone Girl is a gripping, unpredictable and darkly humorous thriller matched perfectly to Fincher's brooding direction and aesthetic. Affleck and Pike give career-best performances, whilst Harris, Coon and Perry flesh out a near perfect role call. The questions may be more intriguing than the answers, but Gone Girl can be considered a highpoint for all those involved. It really is the kind of film that stays with you for hours and days afterwards.