Gone Girl (2014)

Director: David Fincher
Screenplay: Gillian Flynn (based on his book)
Cast: Ben Affleck, Rosamund Pike, Neil Patrick Harris
Music: Trent Renzor and Atticus Ross
Time: 150 minutes
Bottom-line: Brilliant direction and script, except for the climax

Few reasons I liked Fincher’s films were because they had good, entertaining stories, and because he knew to use just the right amount of violence in his films. Gone Girl, his latest film, turned out to be a bit of a disappointment. The mystery thriller film starring Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike in the lead roles is about how a man searches for his missing wife. What started out as a good thriller ended poorly, with a climax I still can’t understand.

Affleck as Nick

July 5th: On the fifth wedding anniversary of Nick (Affleck) and Amy Dunne (Pike), the former finds his wife missing from their house. The matter gains a lot of publicity because her parents were the authors of a children’s book series, whose inspiration was Amy. Detective Rhonda Boney (Kim Dickens) is assigned to the case, and initially she seems to believe that Nick is innocent. However, Nick’s unusual behaviour makes the public think that he killed his wife. Flashbacks show that their marriage wasn’t a perfect one, and that Nick and Amy often fought. Nick comes to know about Amy’s ex-boyfriend, Desi Collings (Harris), against whom she had filed a restraining order. After Boney finds signs of a struggle inside the house, it becomes clear that the whole “kidnap” of Amy was staged. The question is, who staged it, and for what? And where is the “gone girl”?

Pike as Amy

The first hundred minutes or so are brilliant. The plot has been built very well, with several twists rapidly coming up one after another. With the platform for the climax strongly set, I expected the film to become an edge of the seat thriller, but what I saw was completely unexpected - in the good sense and the bad. Wen the truth is revealed, I could not help but admire the ingenious planning of the whole set up and execution; Gillian Flynn is a genius to have thought of the plot! What I didn’t like is the happenings of the last half hour or so. (Spoiler alert!!) As far as the first half is concerned, she wants to stay away from Nick. Then what happens in the interview that suddenly makes her change so much that she would even kill for it? The smooth flow of the story became turbulent because of what was meant to be a “twist”, but to me, the last half hour was a letdown. Amy killing Nick would have been a better ending, for at least then it would be a proper revenge story – maybe she tries to get him arrested and when that does not work, she decides to take him on herself... or something like that.

Harris as Desi 

On the other hand, I feel that in Gone Girl, Ben Affleck gives one his better performances as an actor. I am not saying it is amazing or such, but just that compared to his other performances, this one was a lot better. But the real star was Rosamund Pike, who is also nominated for the Best Actress Academy Award this year. Amy’s character is the most complex of them all, and the Pike has portrayed her, with a variety of emotions and expressions, is simply stunning. There are several scenes where her acting is amazing - towards the end, the scene where she gets robbed, to name a few - and too appreciate it you have to see the film yourself. All the others have also done superbly, especially Kim Dickens, Carrie Coon – who plays Nick’s sister – and Tyler Perry – who plays Nick’s lawyer. The way the characters have been created is the highlight (as Nick’s lawyer says, “You two are the most messed up people I have ever known.”); in my view, “messed-up” is the perfect description for Nick and Amy!

David Fincher’s Gone Girl didn’t come up to my expectations – the climax messed it up, but in other aspects, especially acting, the film is excellent. There were few trademarks of Fincher I could spot, starting with the deeply messed-up characters, the way violence has been employed, the cinematography and the way he has shown the dark side of marriage. The film is smooth most of the way, and Pike’s performance is superb till the end. Gone Girl is far from Fincher’s best work, but overall, is a decent film. Read the book; you'll enjoy it far more than the film.

My Rating: 3.5/5
Rotten Tomatoes rating: 88%