twisty cold-hearted thriller

Rating: 8/10 (19 August 2015)

In small town Missouri, upper class Nick Dunne (Ben Affleck) reports his wife Amy (Rosamund Pike) missing on their 5th wedding anniversary. Detective Rhonda Boney (Kim Dickens) investigates and notices some oddities right away. He doesn't seem to know much about her life including a friendship with neighbor Noelle Hawthorne (Casey Wilson). She was a successful children's book author in NYC. He moved home to care for his terminal mother and later his delusional father. The couple's money is mostly her's. The bar he co-owns with his twin sister Margo Dunne (Carrie Coon) was actually paid by his wife. He lost his college teaching job. She hates that he is a sloth and her money is draining away. TV personality Ellen Abbott (Missi Pyle) makes a meal of his presumed guilt. However the case gets more twisted. Desi Collings (Neil Patrick Harris) is Amy's stalker. Tanner Bolt (Tyler Perry) is famed defense lawyer. Andie Fitzgerald (Emily Ratajkowski) is Nick's young mistress.
This is a great demented brilliant Lifetime movie on steroids. It's twisty and cold-hearted. The acting is superb headed by Rosamund Pike and Carrie Coon. Ben Affleck is a solid lead. The directing is relentlessly compelling. This is not to say I have no problems with the movie. I never once believed Nick killed his wife and therefore the twist is not that shocking. I choose to believe that David Fincher did not make Nick look guilty because he didn't want it to be manufactured. Nevertheless the whole story does have a manufactured feel like Amy's disturbed scheme. I also couldn't see past Neil Patrick Harris or Tyler Perry. NPH doesn't give off the creeps that his character needs desperately. Tyler Perry is Tyler Perry and I can't see his character without his Tyler Perry persona. The best moment actually comes when Amy gets robbed by the couple. That is a shocking brilliant reversal which caught me by surprise. The last half is deliciously cold. The movie ends a bit early but it's already over 2 hours long. Modern movie don't usually go far longer than that and it's set up for an interesting sequel.