Throwback Thursday Review: 'Gone Girl'

This review's a little delayed because I wanted to publish my Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children review first, a film I only just watched last evening. I chose Gone Girl to be this week's Throwback Thursday review for a few reasons. One, this week's major release is The Girl on the Train which is also a book adapted into film revolving around the mysterious disappearance of a man's wife with high profile acting talent. Two, it stars Ben Affleck and the next major release he's headlining is The Accountant that will come out next week and I already reserved that Throwback Thursday slot for my Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix  review so it just seemed perfect for this week. If all goes according to plan my review of Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children will have just went up and other reviews you can expect in the coming weeks include my thoughts on The Girl on the Train, The Birth of a Nation, The Accountant, Keeping Up With The Joneses, Jack Reacher: Never Go Back, and Throwback Thursday reviews of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and Jack Reacher.

'Gone Girl' Review

Nominated For: Best Supporting Actress; Rosamund Pike.

Gone Girl is David Fincher's film adaptation of Gillian Flynn's bestselling novel involving the sudden and mysterious disappearance of wife Amy Dunne and the shocking revelations surrounding her dissipation. I won't go further because the film's twists and turns are much more satisfying if you go in with a blank slate. 

Director David Fincher injects an agonizing sensation of worry throughout the film to naw at the viewer, subvert expectations, and slowly reveal a greater scheme at play. The cinematography in combination with the desaturated color palette and the unsettling harmonic score composed by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross set the stage perfectly for Fincher's suspenseful thrill ride. 

Gone Girl's greatest asset however is its insanely phenomenal screenplay. Maybe the reason that the screenplay is so great is that author Gillian Flynn transcribed it and there was nothing lost in translation considering he knows every nook and cranny of the world and characters he created. Flynn makes engaging spectacle out of ordinary dialogue, bizarre circumstances, and a fascinating narrative, interweaving plot threads all throughout to expertly craft a thrilling character drama. This would all be for naught though if it weren't for the exceptional ensemble. 

Ben Affleck turns in another delightful performance as Nick Dunne, communicating Nick's sensibilities, thoughts and feelings to great effect. 

Rosamund Pike stands apart from the bunch though, making an eerie elaborate presence of Amy that won't be forgotten. Other performances to note consisted of Neil Patrick Harris' unnerving Desi Collings, a former flame of Amy's, Carrie Coon's sardonic Margo Dunne, Nick's sister, and Tyler Perry's stately lawyer Tanner Bolt. 

Gone Girl is most certainly another fantastic film from David Fincher that's not only well-directed, but well-written, well-acted, and well-executed in all other departments. Gone Girl disturbing in all the right ways, with a thing or two to say in it's dissection of troubled marriages.

Film Assessment: A-