Lee Norris
Gone Girl Review
By Rich Cline
Extraordinary
Those who have read the blockbuster novel may be disappointed to know that author Gillian Flynn hasn't changed anything in adapting it to the big screen, so there aren't any surprises along the way. But they'll be glad to see the story so faithfully and skilfully adapted, with snaky direction from David Fincher and actors who add layers of new meaning to the characters. And non-readers are in for a thrillingly twisty experience as a mysterious conundrum shifts into a full-on thriller and then something much more intensely personal.
When Nick (Ben Affleck) discovers that his wife Amy (Rosamund Pike) is missing on their fifth wedding anniversary, he has no idea what has happened. As recounted in Amy's journal, their marriage has been a whirlwind of sexy highs and dark lows, as both writers lost their jobs in New York and moved to rural Missouri to take care of Nick's terminally ill mother. As a result, their marriage ran aground, and Nick increasingly turned to his twin sister Margot (Carrie Coon) for support. As two police officers (Kim Dickens and Patrick Fugit) investigate Amy's disappearance, the media circus begins to paint Nick as a villain, led by rabid tabloid-TV host Ellen Abbott (Missi Pyle). So while he suspects Amy's stalker-like ex (Neil Patrick Harris), Nick has little choice but hire a high-powered lawyer (Tyler Perry) to defend himself.
Even at nearly two and a half hours, this film races along breathlessly as events and revelations continually shift the perspective. It's clear from the start that neither Nick nor Amy (in diary-entry flashbacks) are particularly reliable narrators. Both are a bundle of secrets, although Nick remains far more sympathetic. Affleck gives one of his most textured performances in years as a nice guy who struggles to look "nice" for the cameras. His isolation and confusion are hugely involving, which contrasts strongly to Amy's far too confident point of view. Pike manages to bring out the peeling onion of Amy's personality beautifully, offering telling glimpses of the real woman beneath the characters she seems to always be playing. And the supporting cast add details that twist their roles as well. Dickens and Fugit are a terrific double act, while Coon and Harris constantly offer surprising hints about their characters beneath the bravado and concern.
Continue reading: Gone Girl Review
Gone Girl Trailer
Nick Dunne finds himself at the fore of a police investigation when his wife Amy mysteriously goes missing on their fifth wedding anniversary. He has mixed emotions about the whole thing as he enlists volunteers to help find her; their marriage has been on the rocks after he lost his job and dragged Amy away from New York to open a new business. Their relationship was often volatile, further implicating his involvement in her disappearance. A part of him is not so worried about her; he knows how manipulative and deceitful she can be, but unfortunately his lack of visible devastation on TV goes solidly against him for those who are sure he's killed her. As it turns out, he's not so honest either and things come to a head when it turns out that every person in this story has a secret.
Continue: Gone Girl Trailer
Gone Girl Trailer
Nick and Amy Dunne are a couple whose marriage is struggling following the loss of Nick's journalism job and their subsequent move away from New York City. Nick sets up a new business to support them, but nothing seems to be cutting the tension between them as their relationship gets more and more fractured. When Amy goes missing on their fifth anniversary, a series of suspicious circumstances point him out as the prime suspect in a possible murder investigation; though he denies any involvement in her disappearance, we are left questioning everything he says when his true, deceitful nature starts to shine through. However, it soon becomes clear that he's not the only dishonest character in this tale as nobody is quite what they're making out to be.
Continue: Gone Girl Trailer