Gone Girl ***** (2014, Ben Affleck, Rosamund Pike, Neil Patrick Harris, Kim Dickens, Carrie Coon) – Movie Review

Director David Fincher’s excellent, super-edgy thriller is continually engrossing and surprising. Ben Affleck as Nick Dunne, the husband who comes home to find his wife is missing, Rosamund Pike as the troubled wife and Kim Dickens as the police detective in charge of the case are all first rate. These are very distinguished performances when just decent ones would do.

Gillian Flynn writes the tasty meal of a screenplay, obviously relishing the chance to adapt her own novel, that starts on the occasion of the supposedly happy couple’s fifth wedding anniversary. During the media frenzy that follows the arrival of the police on the scene, Affleck’s story of his blissful marriage begins to crumble as his lies, deceits and odd behaviour start to put him in the frame as number one suspect, with his sister (Carrie Coon) possibly his accomplice in murder.

Gone Girl is visually extremely stylish and boasts an unusual, jagged-edged soundtrack by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross that helps build lots of tension, though it’s not at all subtle and unfortunately occasionally it does drown out dialogue you’d like to hear.

Fincher manages to keep control of an extended narrative in a long, two and a half hour movie, and it never stalls or drags, not even once. Only the slightly slow beginning quarter of an hour setting up the story needs a tiny bit of patience. Hints of black humour and critique of the American way of life start to bite around half way, giving it a boost and a cynical sophisticated edge that adds a touch of extra class to an already fine thriller.

Neil Patrick Harris plays Desi Collings, Tyler Perry plays Tanner Bolt, Patrick Fugit plays Officer James Gilpin, David Clennon plays Rand Elliott, Lisa Banes plays Marybeth Elliott and Missi Pyle plays Ellen Abbott.

Pike earned a much deserved Best Actress Oscar nomination but there were no other expected Oscar nominations for Gone Girl. Five Golden Globe nominations and two Bafta nominations failed to result in wins.

In a lawsuit filed in federal court in Illinois on 6 December 2017, writer Leslie Weller alleges that the book and movie Gone Girl ripped off her work. She alleges she first filed a registration for her work Out of the Blue with the US Copyright Office in 2006 and later emailed a copy of it. Producer Reese Witherspoon, author Gillian Flynn, director David Fincher and 20th Century Fox Film Corporation are named among the defendants in the lawsuit.

© Derek Winnert 2014 Movie Review

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