Jay Reviews David Fincher's "Gone Girl"

Jay here.

It's tough to write a review of Gone Girl without giving too much of the plot away. A lot of what makes it enjoyable is dependent on how much or how little you know about the story and the book it is based on. I have not read Gillian Flynn's best selling novel of the same name, but I know quite a few people who have. In this particular instance, after seeing the filmed adaption of the book, I am glad that I went in blissfully ignorant.

So, without giving too much away, Gone Girl starts off as your typical whodunit. Nick Dunne (Ben Affleck) comes home one morning to discover that his wife, Amy (Rosamund Pike) is missing and there are signs of foul play. What starts off as a simple missing persons case turns into a nationwide media frenzy as the public latches onto the case of the missing woman and the guilt or innocence of her unassuming husband. Meanwhile, local detective, Rhonda Boney (Kim Dickens) tries to piece together all of the evidence surrounding the crime while Nick hires a famous New York lawyer, Tanner Bolt (Tyler Perry) to help defend him from the mounting suspicions of the police and public alike.

Nick Dunne (Ben Affleck) faces tough questions from the police and his in-laws concerning the whereabouts of his missing wife.

Fincher's movie is captivating and lots of fun. There are twists and turns throughout as Nick's secrets are peeled back one by one and like the thousands of people watching him on television we are taken on a roller coaster ride of doubt as to his involvement in his wife's disappearance. Affleck's certain smugness and Boy Scout looks lend a lot to the character and he was well cast.

Much of Gone Girl concerns the complicated relationship of Nick and Amy Dunne (Rosamund Pike). It is a cynical look at a marriage gone very, very bad.

The movie expertly deals a lot with the media's obsession with cases like this and how, when put in this precarious position, someone like Nick will try adapt to what the public wants to perceive him as in order to try a convince them of his guiltlessness. It is also a sharp and deeply cynical critique on marriage and how the battles for control in a relationship can often define it.

Its tough to write any more without spoiling it. Everyone in it is amazing. Pike, in particular, gives a virtuoso performance that could possibly land her some attention come Oscar time. It stands up as one of Fincher's best films. He has always been a good filmmaker, capable of greatness but sometimes falling short. For every Gone Girl there is The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. I would rank his top 5 movies as follows:

5. The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
4. Gone Girl
3. Seven
2. The Social Network
1. Zodiac

Yes, I know, you don't see Fight Club there. For me, it has always been a flawed movie. Sure it has moments of greatness but the end falls very flat. Zodiac is his best work, a sprawling yet intimate portrayal on how the obsessive hunt for one killer changes three men's lives.

Gone Girl is certainly one of the smartest and most polished of his movies. I would assume fans of Flynn's book will not be disappointed by this adaptation. It is one of the best movies of the year, so far, and with its surprises and deft observations on the dynamics of a troubled marriage plus media voyeurism, it is sure to please.