Yeah, it's a Fincher movie alright. Now how do I get out of my seat?

Rating: 7/10 (1 December 2014)

I must say, the first twenty minutes of the movie did not satisfy me. I thought Affleck and Pike looked contrived, the dialogues were sloppy and cliché'd; You would almost think you were watching a rom-com. Was it just awkwardly done or expertly achieved by Fincher? I don't know. All I'm saying is, if you don't like the beginning, hang on, it's about to get much better. And a lot darker.
The story is pretty simple. Nick Dunne goes home to find his wife missing and traces of commotion (broken glass, a flipped coffee table...). He calls the cops, and they become increasingly suspicious of the husband as the film progresses and incoherences appear in his testimony.
This truly is Fincher's first tour de force: leading the audience to believe that Nick Dunne is indeed questionable, by simply making him not perfect. He awkwardly smiles at the camera when asked, he takes pictures with strangers because he's asked, which leads people to believe that he has something to confess, or at the very least that he doesn't seem much concerned by the disappearance of his wife. The notes from his wife's "diary" in which he's depicted as a cold, violent man only add fuel to this theory.
Fincher loves plot twists. But in "The Game, or "Fight Club", or to a lesser extent "Seven", the plot twists come at the end like a bomb shell, to either end all possibilities of hope, or liberate the main character if the movie ends well.
But not this time. The plot twist brutally sets in about an hour or 80 minutes in, and from now on the doubts you had about Nick are dissipated (watch out for the SPOILERS) : the poor guy is in fact married to a psychopath, a cold, calculating, superiorly intelligent criminal who faked her own death and in a blood-chillingly complex and almost flawless meticulosity.
That is not to say that Dunne is without any reproach. He cheated on his wife with a younger woman; also probably neglected his wife too. but the disproportionate scheme of his wife helps us identifying to Affleck's character, a more-or-less honest guy caught in a dangerous spiral.
The last thirty minutes or so are pure torture. Dunne's wife actually manages to come back unsuspiciously after brutally murdering a weird rich ex-boyfriend obsessed with her, to make people believe he was molesting and raping her the whole time, in another far-fetched scene where she shoves a bottle of champagne down her vagina, this time faking kidnapping and rape). With the wife back, Affleck is now caught between his knowledge that his wife is a psychopath, and the loving and supportive husband face he has to display for the cameras (the public and police not knowing anything about his wife's fake disappearance.
In the end, I don't know what irritated me the most. The fact that Nick's murdering psychopath of a wife pretty much has achieved everything she was looking for, or the fact that Nicky Dunne, while displaying intelligence to unveil the scheme of his wife, displays an apparent lack of courage; he's simply a coward. I think Fincher also wants to instigate doubt inside of us as to whether or not they love each other. By the end you can see the weakness and vulnerability of Dunne towards his wife. Basically he doesn't know if he should run away or kiss her. You feel like there's at least some residual love between them. That's Fincher's last victory upon us and our morals. The fact that these two could actually (and probably will) continue to live together.
I've said it many times before Fincher is an absolute sadist. He likes to manipulate his audience, toy around with us like a prey. Please go on Mr. Fincher. HIT US AGAIN!!!
Gone Girl - 8/10