Review: Gone Girl

When you think of a David Fincher film, you think of tense viewing, thrilling pace, interesting characters and never afraid to go over the edge.

Like The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, Fincher has decided to try his hand at another critically acclaimed novel.

In this one, we are dealing with another crime thriller. However, it sees a couple on the verge of another wedding anniversary, but the sudden disappearance of the wife makes their local town become the talk of the nation. As the story goes on, the spotlight is turned to the husband. From then on, we get such a thrill ride that was made for Fincher.

For the first third of the film, you seem relaxed in your seat watching a solidly paced feature. But as the town suddenly start turning on its sympathetic characters, you are on the edge of your seat, gritting your teeth and peaking through the spaces between your fingers.
Despite the generally poor final scene, you still feel exhausted and leave the cinema feeling highly satisfied and entertained.

Fincher's films always bring out memorable performances and the stars of the show certainly deliver. Ben Affleck plays his role well and we certainly feel for him. But his role only works with the truly unforgettable character played by Rosamund Pike. For most of her career, I have had Pike a solid actress in British films, but never delivers in the big blockbusters. However, we finally have the exception and it should get her quite a lot of major award nominations.
She plays with the audiences mind so beautifully. We have polarizing feelings for her character throughout the film, and that is a quality few can create. It is certainly a career best performance.

For the minor characters, there are some great contributions that further cements my approval of how enjoyable this film is. The most notable performances come from Tyler Perry and Neil Patrick-Harris.

With Perry being known for dressing up in ridiculously stereotypical films that are just terrible, his role with Fincher certainly steals a few scenes. Every time he comes on screen, anything he says constantly surprises you with your emotions.
A bit like Perry, Harris is well-known for being in comedies, but with better class than Perry's. In this, we see a much creepier side to Harris' acting that was both pleasing and refreshing to see.

Another part of the film that you can see Fincher's hands all over is the cinematography and look of the film. The choice of dark colors and grungy look gives it the right tone that Fincher excels in.
Also the score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Rose really gives it that tense viewing like they did with The Social Network and The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo.

All in all, Fincher has delivered in a big way that has put him in contention for more awards nominations. He gives us a crime thriller that leads you into a false sense of security and turns into a dark, twisted and slightly satirical look at marriage in suburbia and how the media cover stories involving missing people.
It is a shame that the ending is very abrupt. But with everything you saw before it, you feel like you can let that go and just praise it.
There is also a great vintage feel to the story that we do not see that often. This deserves to be noticed, especially for Fincher's direction and Pike's jaw-dropping performance.

Rating: 9/10