Gone Girl Review

Gone Girl is a hugely entertaining thriller and drama surrounding the disappearance of Amy Dunne (Rosamund Pike), presumably killed by her husband, Nick Dunne (Ben Affleck). This movie is based on the hit-novel by Gillian Flynn. The film tells the story of a failing marriage between Nick and Amy Dunne, and how the couples’ fifth anniversary is interrupted by Amy’s sudden and suspicious disappearance. It is a film that shifts emphasis and perspective so many times that you may feel as though you're watching five short movies strung together, each morphing into the next.

Gone Girl begins with Amy’s disappearance. The morning of their anniversary, Nick goes to The Bar, a bar that he owns along with his sister Margo, before heading back home because his neighbor called and said his cat had gotten out. When he arrives, he sees broken glass, furniture on the ground, and no signs of Amy. He proceeds to call the police, and not too long after, Detective Rhonda Boney (Kim Dickens) and her partner, Officer James Gilpin (Patrick Fugit) arrive at the scene. After inspecting the house, they take Nick to the police station and proceed to ask him some questions about his wife. To their surprise, Nick seems to know almost nothing about his wife, unable to answer questions such as what she does all day and if she has any friends.

After inspecting the house, the police find a letter titled “Clue One” and it's presumed to have been left by Amy. This note was meant as the first clue of her annual treasure hunt to be solved by Nick as a way to celebrate their anniversary. Nick does not cooperate with the police too long in the hunt before going off on his own. He didn’t want the police to find anything that would make him look suspicious in the disappearance of his wife.

When the police find Nick at his father’s shed looking suspicious, they decide to have a look around for themselves. They end up finding Amy’s diary almost completely burnt. They soon discover that the diary has seven years worth of entries made by Amy depicting what her relationship with Nick was like. It reveals that after only a couple happy years of marriage, things went south. As the country hits a major recession, the couple is left jobless and penniless. Before long, Nick's mother gets sick, and they move back to Missouri to help her, but Amy already feels insecure about how important she is to his life, according to her diary. Her diary tells the story of something more than a troubled marriage, as she worries that Nick may kill her. After the police examine the diary, Nick becomes the prime suspect of the investigation.

To make matters worse, witnesses in town testify that Amy wanted to buy a gun to protect herself from her husband. His strange behavior and mounting evidence against him leaves even people close to him wondering if he actually did kill his wife.

The first half of the film leaves viewers with endless questions: Can we trust what Nick tells the homicide detectives who investigate Amy's case? Can we trust what Amy tells us, via her diary? Is one of the spouses lying? Are they both lying? If so, to what end? The film raises these questions and others, and it answers nearly all of them, often in boldface, all-caps sentences that end with exclamation points. It is not a subtle film, nor is it trying to be. As directed by David Fincher (Se7en, Zodiac), Gone Girl is dependent upon reversals of expectation and point-of-view. As soon as you get a handle on what it is, it becomes something else, then something else again. Describing its storyline in detail would ruin aspects that would be counted as selling points for anyone who hasn't read Gillian Flynn's book. It's a plot-obsessed picture that's determined to stay one step ahead of the audience at all times.

Key scenes revolve around public statements that are evaluated by onlookers in terms of their believability. Gone Girl is a nightmare of love gone cold and a relationship gone south, coupled with an elaborate revenge fantasy. It's also a film about a psychopath who turns an ordinary life into chaos. This is a sick film, and often brilliant.

The diary gives viewers glimpses into the past about her and Nick’s relationship. The film often switches between past and present to slowly show how their marriage went south. The film has more of a dark undertone in the present which is paired perfectly with Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross’s creepy, synthesized score.

Rosamund Pike served a captivating performance in Gone Girl. She portrays the wife as both charming and evil. She interchangeably makes the viewer sympathize for her but also believe she is genuinely crazy. Ben Affleck is also stellar in his performance. Throughout the film, the audience is left wondering if he actually is a clueless, smooth everyman or an actual psychopath. The stars paired really well together in the film.

Gone Girl is a psychological thriller which immerses the viewer almost immediately in a mystery.