David Fincher's Gone Girl is a complex thriller full of twists and turns.

Rating: 8/10 (20 February 2016)

David Fincher's Gone Girl is a complex thriller full of twists and turns. Did he, didn't he, is she, isn't she? But then it deepens into something less predictable and altogether more surprising.
Husband Ben Affleck gradually falls under suspicion of murder after his wife, Roasmund Pike, disappears. His responses and behaviour seem unexpected and that's all the media needs to both determine the crime and judge him guilty. His wife is portrayed as a perfect spouse while his character is subjected to ritual innuendo and suspicion.
In fact, their relationship is far more complex, and much more disturbing, than we realise. Exploring the machinations of their marriage creates a compelling narrative as we begin to question what really happened, and who is guilty. The story suddenly answers our questions part way though and the narrative takes an even darker turn leaving us with something altogether more surprising.
It's a film partly about image and perception. About how the media create a fiction to suit their own ends, which are happily and hungrily consumed by the public. It's also about the image we choose to present of ourselves, and the fictions we create individually.
The two leads are exemplary. Affleck convinces as an ambivalent husband, and ensures that we question everything we see, until the film decides to provide the answers. Pike is a revelation in a complex role.
It might be a vaguely preposterous story, but it's so well crafted in every sense that it probably won't matter. It'll glue you to your seat for the duration. Only afterwards might you consider the likelihood of such a tale.