Thriller of psychological horrors in married life

Rating: 8/10 (16 December 2014)

Gillian Flynn's acclaimed novel Gone Girl gets adapted to the big screen by the author herself and is a riveting and superior thriller.
David Fincher directs the dark film adaptation Gone Girl, about the mystery surrounding a missing woman.
Nick Dunne, played by Ben Affleck, was a writer living in New York when he met the enamoring Amy, played by Rosamund Pike. Though hopeful at first, the story of Nick and Amy is more realistically complex than a happily ever after. On the day of their fifth anniversary, the glow and glimmer of love and happiness long gone, Amy goes mysteriously missing and foul play is suspected. A whirlwind media frenzy erupts as Nick becomes the prime suspect as his projection of an ideal and blissful marriage collapses under the strain of truth.
Thrillers similar to Gone Girl seem to have gone out of style in film as of late. Gillian Flynn's dramatic narrative puts a microscope on the perceived trend highlighted by the media's preoccupation with murderous husbands with the picturesque wife, life and marriage. Flynn takes this tired story and spins it on its head, for a novel and enrapturing mystery she single-handedly adapts in a screenplay.
Twentieth Century Fox made the proper choice when the production company enlisted David Fincher to direct the New York Times bestseller. Fincher stays true to his signature style appropriate for Gone Girl's psychological thriller that looks at the primal questions of any marriage.
Much of the successfulness of Gone Girl can most likely be attributed to the nuances of Gillian Flynn's acclaimed novel and less with the film itself. The story is intricate and delves deeply into the darkest aspects of human psyche and expertly utilizes the precarious nature of media representation.
The audience will dutifully watch and observe, taking in subtle clues and evidence regarding the case from the camouflaged meaning behind the behavior of Nick and Amy. Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike play Nick and Amy as complex, dynamic and intriguing. Pike is especially effective but seems primarily the result of the compelling character written by Flynn.
Gone Girl is a film that builds much anticipation with layers of deception and unfortunately the ending is rather disappointing and anticlimactic.
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