A Fincher Masterpiece

Rating: 10/10 (17 February 2015)

David Fincher has outdone himself with his cinematic adaptation of Gillian Flynn's bestselling novel. With a screenplay by the author herself, Fincher leads the viewer down a rabbit-hole of a marriage gone way south. Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike portray Nick and Amy Dunne, a seemingly happy couple living in rural Missouri. However when Amy vanishes without a trace to her whereabouts, police and residents deduce that Nick has done away with Amy, but the truth is far stranger than elaborate fiction.
Affleck is in top form as Nick, a man who had it all: a beautiful home, a bar run by his smart mouth sister (Carrie Coon) and the ultimate trophy wife, but when evidence points to him having possibly murdered Amy the viewer begins to despise him as his dirty little secrets begin to surface.
As the manipulative and scheming Amy, Rosamund Pike gives a bravado performance that has netted her an Oscar nod for Best Actress. She is the seemingly perfect wife, but as her web unravels we learn there is more to Amy than a wealthy woman with a gorgeous facade.
Under the direction of Fincher, the atmosphere is dark and brooding, full of foreboding as we step into the mess of Amy and Nick's five year marriage. With a sparse melancholy score, the mood stays dark and mysterious as Amy's demeanor. Flynn's screenplay is full of surprising twists and turns, keeping the viewer on the edge of his or her seat.