Definitely worth watching even though it's unpleasant.

Rating: 9/10 (8 September 2016)

What I like most about this movie is the social commentary aspect. The story is great and keeps you guessing without confusing you too much, and the characters are all equally pleasing and displeasing. But there aren't many movies that I've seen that make such a great use of their subject matter as a way to put a mirror up to the audience. My parents have been happily married for more than twenty years and they hated this movie for a couple of reasons. I think they recognized the skill that went into it, but they just didn't enjoy it, which I guess makes sense. If you're married or engaged or in any kind of serious relationship while you watch this movie you can't help but wonder, "how can I trust my spouse?" It's not a pleasant thought, but David Fincher has specifically told us that he has no problem with leaving people feeling a little bleak after seeing his movies. I'm sure couples don't want to have a conversation about whether one of them is cheating on the other or whatever, but I think this movie is saying that you need to have those sort of conversations or your marriage is going to fall apart.
But it's really not a message, it's a theme that's open for interpretation. Gillian Flynn isn't saying to do this or that; she's just presenting some of the facts that people prefer to ignore and saying "do with this what you will, but don't you dare think you're exempt." I listened to most of the audio book, which is pretty long and is equally as good as the movie, but for different reasons. In the book, there is more detail concerning Nick and Amy's past. You get deeper into their characters, particularly "Diary Amy". It's actually pretty incredible how they were able to squeeze so much into 150 minutes and retain the quality of the story. In the book, Nick makes a lot of points about how much people's views on Amy's disappearance are skewed by the tropes that they see on cop shows and crime movies. This isn't really mentioned in the movie, but the motif is retained in other ways, like how we get to see the contrast of how characters like Nicole Hawthorne and Andie behave so much differently on camera than they do in real life. Public opinion is so vital to both Amy's plan of framing Nick as well as Nick's quest to prove his innocence. And in the end, it forces them to stay together so that they can be America's perfect but flawed couple.
The pacing was great in the movie. You're pretty much on the same page as Nick and, like him, you're always curious to find out more about the mystery behind Amy's disappearance. It does get harder to follow once you find out that Amy has fabricated much of her diary. In the book, she was more clear on what was real and what she made up as evidence, but that was harder to grasp in the movie.
The execution was fabulous. Rosamund Pike definitely deserved to win Best Actress for her performance as Amy. I'm not really that into Ben Affleck, but he was perfect for the role. He was genuine but shady at the same time. There's so much ambiguity in the performance that it makes you want to like Nick, but there's a definite danger that it's all just a guise that he's putting on to try to avoid suspicion. The minor parts were pretty good too, namely Tanner Bolt and Go. Some smaller characters got diminished from the book like Amy's parents and the woman who takes a compromising selfie with Nick. Fincher made great use of the fade-outs to set the right mood, and once again he plays with the color scheme to create an effect. Whereas in Fight Club he made everything a little grainy and off color in some scenes, here he makes the images sharp and makes all the shadows a little darker.
I would recommend this to most people, particularly married couples. I know it isn't the movie you want to see, but it may be able to help your relationship grow stronger. I will warn you that there are some pretty disturbing and gory scenes. If you like an interesting story, whether plot driven or character driven, this will satisfy. There is only one aspect of the plot that people might find especially implausible, which is Amy's willingness to sacrifice her life to prove a point. I could agree to this, but you have to remember that Amy sees herself as a martyr for all married women and is an expert in the art of revenge against men. Overall Rating: 8.5/10.