Gone Girl pulls you straight in and absolutely refuses to let go from beginning to end. This is filmmaking at its best.

Rating: 9/10 (2 October 2014)

If you haven't read Gone Girl yet, I don't know exactly what you're waiting for. Those of you who have read the book... Good job! (You go Glenn Coco!) Critically acclaimed Director David Fincher (The Social Network, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Fight Club) creates a fantastically dark piece of art that stays true to the central essence of Gillian Flynn's bestselling novel. Gone Girl pulls you straight in and absolutely refuses to let go from beginning to end. This is filmmaking at its best.
Gone Girl tells the story of Amy Dunne's disappearance, and the resulting spotlight being placed on her husband Nick by media outlets, friends, family and the police as it becomes suspected that he may not be completely innocent.
I was a HUGE fan of Gillian Flynn's novel. It's one of those books that you pick up, and cannot physically put down until you reach that last page. It's like opening a box of munchkins from Dunkin Donuts and not being able to stop eating until the box is empty. I read the book in a day and couldn't help but want more. When I learned that David Fincher was to direct the film AND that the book's author Gillian Flynn was writing the screenplay, I was more than confident that the movie adaptation would be true to overall essence of the book.
And boy was I right.
Gone Girl exceeded my expectations for a book to film adaptation in a multitude of different ways, but firstly because of the casting. Nick Dunne is character you'll have a love-hate relationship with, depending at where you are in the story's plot. There are moments when his character is violent, and others when he's completely destroyed emotionally resulting in some empathy. Ben Affleck does a great job evoking these sentiments. His expressions and body language continually make us question his involvement in his wife's disappearance, like flashing a cheeky smile at a press conference or taking a selfie with a random lady at the "Find Amy Dunne" headquarters. #Sketchy
When I first saw Rosamund Pyke in the early Gone Girl trailers, I was somewhat skeptical that she had the ability to pull off the utterly fascinating character of Amy Dunne. I felt that the character required an actress such as Charlize Theron (Think Monster and even Young Adult) who could easily handle the darker and richly complex role. I was happily surprised when Pyke both met and even surpassed a few of my expectations. I would offer more details, but I refuse to give any major spoilers for this movie.
Three more casting decisions are worth briefly mentioning: Neil Patrick Harris as Desi Collings, Tyler Perry as Tanner Bolt, and Carrie Coon as Margo Dunne. Desi Collings is a stalker and former lover of Amy's from her boarding school days. He is creepy in the books AND thankfully creepy in the movie thanks to Harris. Those scenes in his lake house thoughÂ… (Fans of the book, you know what I'm getting at.) Tyler Perry was an interesting selection for Tanner, a wealthy high-profile criminal defense lawyer who eventually represents Nick. It naturally takes some time to stop visualizing Madea, but I did quickly warm up to his portrayal. Lastly, I have to give an honorable mention to Carrie Coon (She plays the coolest character from HBO's The Leftovers. You don't watch that show? Maybe you should?) as Margo Dunne, Nick's 'tell it like it is' twin sister. Her acting was top-notch throughout the film as her character's world is torn apart because of Amy's disappearance.
The cinematography in Gone Girl is understandably both excellent and brilliant based on one simple aspect: David Fincher is the film's director. Yes, it's as simple as that. The majority of the film contains dark, gloomy, and crisp shots that exemplify the movie's opaque core. Trent Reznor's exquisitely shadowy score helps to further compliment Fincher's masterful cinematography by creating tension and consistent undertones of suspense.
Despite all of Gone Girl's bells and whistles as far as acting, cinematography and score, the film's true success comes from Gillian Flynn and her adapted screenplay. No one knows a novel better than the novel's author, and Flynn's involvement in writing the screenplay truly helped carry over many of the elements, aspects and characteristics of the novel that I initially fell in love with. Gone Girl is far more than a simple 'whodunit' detective story that we've all seen before. The unconventional nature of the story's structure and theme simply refuse to let go of you once you start watching (or reading for that matter). I only warn of the film's 150-minute runtime, because various scenes did feel slightly longer than necessary. This feeling may have also resulted from my empty stomach and (eternal) craving for pizza while watching.
If you're one of those people who prefers reading the book before seeing the movie, then do so. If you prefer seeing the movie before immersing yourself in the book, then do so. Regardless of the order, make sure you see Gone Girl. Fincher and Flynn's beautifully dark love story is a masterpiece that simply will not disappoint.