Gone Girl is 5 STARS!!! MIC DROPPED MOMENT!! The end!!!
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Just kidding. It would be funny to read a review like that. However I'm not kidding about the movie being 5 Stars! From about 15 minutes into the film to the end, I was hooked! This review is coming from someone who hasn't read the novel. My wife read it and told me a few things about it way back then but I didn't remember anything. From the clips/trailers that I saw, I still wan't that interested. I thought it was going to be boring. Not until the morning of the viewing did I remember that David Fincher had directed it. Once I remembered that, I got excited. As you may know he was the director of several thrillers and twisted plotted films such as Seven, Fight Club, Social Network and Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. With David Fincher at the helm, I knew I was in for a bumpy ride.
The film is about a woman who has gone missing on her 5th wedding anniversary and the town is out to find her and the killer. Of course they all suspect that it is the husband who did it. Ben Affleck plays the husband Nick Dunne who makes you believe his loving marriage is doomed and is crumbling but is worse because of lies and deceits that are coming to the forefront. He is fantastic in this film! Very convincing and gave me a glimpse of what he could do with the Bruce Wayne/Batman character he is going to play in the future. Rosamund Pike plays Amy Dunne the missing wife with a performance that is Oscar worthy for this year! I don't know what other films I remember her from but I will definitely go back to see them. Tyler Perry has his best role yet! I'm not a fan of Tyler Perry when he is not playing Madea but he was fantastic in this film. Neil Patrick Harris plays the stalking ex-boyfriend with such a menacing force that I thought he was the one who kills her. David Fincher manages to pull out the best in all his actors! He is a director who is known for not just taking 3 takes to get the best out of someone but like 80 takes. It really shows in this film. I'm so glad that I didn't read this novel or pay much attention to the clips/trailers that I saw because it added that much more intrigue and mystery. The humor in the film was played in the right tones. I didn't know if I was supposed to laugh because I thought it was all going to be serious but it uses those moments in the best of ways.
The amount of twists and turns that this film took had me on the edge of my seat. It's smart though. I was able to figure things out as it happened but I couldn't figure out the next step. Just when you think it is over, something else happens. The shock and awe of it all had me wanting more. The moment when you find out that Ben Affleck's character is cheating on his wife with his student, I was thinking "Oh they are going to go there." The moment when he throws his wife to the ground, I was thinking "He did it! He is an abuser." But no! The moment when you find out the wife is framing him for murder, you feel bad for accusing Ben's character of doing it. But then I was wondering if he really is going to do it later. I loved the moments when she is telling her story of how she framed him. I loved the moment when she frames Neil's character of rape. And when she kills him.....WHOA!! My wife told me that was added and wasn't in the book. But she loved it as did I. The ending when she comes home and continues to manipulate him was insane! Once you realize how sick and twisted she is you want it to keep going! I even loved the way they ended the film. It is one of those, leave it up to the viewer to find out what happens next. Cliffhanger! It's not a cliffhanger to tell the audience that they are going to make a sequel but makes you think. I love those types of films. It is a-lot like the film Inception. Not everything needs to be finished or resolved.
The cinematography of this film was fantastic. The right amount of darkness and shadows to keep you guessing. The framing and pacing of the film was astounding. The musical score was spot on as well because it falls into the background when needed but still manages to be noticeable. I'm a fan of film scores and I wanted to just listen to parts without the dialogue. The fact that Gillian Flynn who also wrote the novel wrote the screenplay for this film, helps the film be more true to the original story. I liked that. More authors should do that if they can. You can change a few things but keep the meat intact. Adobe Premiere Creative Cloud was used for post-production of the entire film which has never been done before. It was flawless and really gives the post-production industry hope for what is to come. As an editor, this got me excited.
I don't how much longer I can continue to give this film praises but it deserves it. It's definitely not a date night movie and it isn't an uplifting one. I do recommend anyone see it who is into murder mysteries and if you are a David Fincher fan. This is probably my favorite of his. I really loved Social Network and Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.
5 STARS!! GO SEE IT!!
