Gone Girl is a sharp, sophisticated movie, a series of stunning revelations and twisted events. The movie revolves around the turbulent marriage of Nick (Ben Affleck) and Amy Dunne (Rosamund Pike), from its electric start to its eventual disfiguration. The couple is thrown off by the recession, resulting in the loss of both of their jobs. Consequently, they uproot themselves and move from New York to Missouri so that Nick can purchase and manage a local bar and tend to his ailing mother. His wife sits, quietly discontent, on the sidelines while Nick lives his life outside their suburban compound.
Pike matches Affleck’s incredible performance as the amazing, dissatisfied trophy wife who turns up missing on the couple’s fifth anniversary. Her disappearance prompts a missing person case that swiftly evolves into a national murder mystery. In Amy’s absence, she narrates segments of her diary spanning the period from the day she met Nick to her abrupt departure. As Amy narrates her side of the marriage and Nick tries to prove his innocence, the audience is conflicted about whom to trust. Once you feel like you have a comfortable grip on the truth, the tables are turned and evidence is found that shatters your assumptions.
The film mocks the influence of modern intrusive media with its discriminatory portrayal of different genders. The audience of America has become judge, jury, and executioner, and proving one’s innocence is now done by portraying the right image, which Nick struggles to do throughout the film.
Gone Girl also includes appearances from Neil Patrick Harris, who plays doting ex-boyfriend Desi Collings, and Tyler Perry as Tanner Bolt, a hotshot lawyer. A strong supporting performance is also given by Carrie Coon as Margo, Nick’s loyal twin sister and voice of reason.
If you’re looking for an intellectually challenging movie and to second-guess the society we find ourselves in today, Gone Girl is what you’re looking for. The film is somehow threaded with frequent fits of comedic relief originating from its very tension. The style of Gone Girl perfectly fits David Fincher’s taste: a dark and twisted plot filled with conflicted and accused characters. MMMM ½
