Gone Girl (2014)

Rating: 9/10 (6 February 2020)

Directed by David Fincher. Starring Ben Affleck, Rosamund Pike, Carrie Coon, Kim Dickens, Neil Patrick Harris, Tyler Perry, Patrick Fugit, Lola Kirke, Emily Ratajkowski, Boyd Holbrook, Lisa Banes, David Clennon, Sela Ward, Missi Pyle. (R)
When his "amazing" wife (Pike) disappears, aloof husband Affleck is suspected of murder, unleashing a media firestorm that captivates the community and nation at large, but truly not all is what it seems. Ice cold yet blistered in scorch marks, director Fincher does what he does best: an elegantly stylish, meticulously-crafted thriller that looks phenomenal, frame after frame, serving every dark impulse and lunatic intent, paired well with an unnerving score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross that provides false reassurance. Gillian Flynn's adaptation of her own best-seller is a hysterical dark comedy, serpentine mystery, trashy potboiler, and sinister study of sociopathy all rolled into one; can't withstand much scrutiny, but many of those plot holes (particularly toward the end) actually serve the satirical calculations of its macabre delight. Every role is perfectly cast (yes, even Perry), with Affleck and Pike delivering exactly what's needed for their unforgettable lead roles, so very deserving of each other despite not belonging within 500 yards of one another--to be a fly on the wall... Calmly torpedoes any politically correct notion of misogyny, misandry, militant feminism, revenge fantasy, etc., but is still bound to upset those who demand rectitude in their lurid fiction, which makes it all the more ingeniously unsettling.
89/100