David Fincher back on form

Rating: Null/10 (7 October 2014)

This is a critic proof film. And I don't mean that bad reviews will not hamper it's success, but that the way it is executed means that it is almost impossible to review in any kind of meaningful way without giving away gigantic plot details which will ruin a viewers enjoyment. This in itself is a great compliment, because the plot developments and the twists and turns in it are to a great degree what makes it such a good film.
As the movie opens, we are introduced to Nick Dunne, who seems an affable enough man, on his wedding anniversary. He goes to a bar in the middle of the day and has an exchange with the barmaid and we are not told what kind of relationship he and the barmaid have, which turns out to be a rather important one to the story. Nick tells the barmaid that it is the day of his and his wife's anniversary and there is a suggestion that the marriage is not an entirely happy one, but is anyone really happy in marriage? He is then called by one of his neighbours who informs him that he can see that the front door of his home is ajar. Nick thanks him and makes his way home, where he finds the open door, an overturned coffee table and a few other bits of what appear to be evidence of some sort of disturbance. There is no sign of his wife. Nick calls her name several times and she does not appear, we see the neighbour who alerted Nick to his open front door with an expression of concern on his face when he hears Nick calling for his wife. When Nick realises his wife is nowhere to be seen, he calls the police. The remainder of 'Gone Girl' is an absolutely spellbinding mystery-thriller, and handled with masterful brushstrokes by Mr. Fincher. I have been led to believe that the film follows the book fairly faithfully (I haven't read it), metronoming between Nick's ordeal with the media circus and his wife's diary and by extension flashbacks to how they met and their marriage story.
I think there are many reasons this film works so well, not the least of which is that Gillian Flynn adapted her own novel for it. Inspired casting plays a major role too. Ben Affleck has the exact sort of non-threatening good looks of a man caught up in circumstances he cannot apprehend or control, Rosamund Pike as the 'gone girl' is completely riveting, I believed every word she spoke, in fact, I would have believed that her dialogue was not rehearsed at all.
I have no doubt that, come Oscar nomination time, 'Gone Girl' will be recognized in adapted screenplay, actor, actress, writing and directing categories, and they will all be very well deserved.
One of my learned movie critic colleagues said of this film 'It knows what it is' and before I saw 'Gone Girl', I was not entirely clear that such a statement belonged in a movie review. After seeing it, I now believe I know what he meant and why he said it. I believe he said it because David Fincher has never been a director to follow audience led formulas, nor does he have a reputation for 'giving in' to test audiences and changing things after audience feedback and at the behest of studio executives. But this film is different. There doesn't seem to be any evidence of him considering audience expectations, but there is an element of formula here. Which is not to say that we see anything coming. Quite the contrary, this film takes a great many unexpected directions, but the way it is executed in itself can be considered formulaic. I want to be clear, the twists and turns here are delightfully revealed, but the very idea of twists and turns is in itself a bit formulaic. This is no criticism, but observation.
David Fincher has finally found a story that satisfies almost every aspect of his film-making urges, and the exuberance with which he tells this story is in every single frame.