A chilling, nasty and insidious zeitgeist

Rating: 8/10 (4 December 2014)

Despite criticism from large media outlets that David Fincher has softened by adapting popular "pulp" novels I feel that this criticism goes entirely off the rails with Gone Girl. As the film unravels it slowly begins to reveal more and more of itself and once the ending comes you get it, Mr. Fincher has directed us towards a place of absolute meta-textual understanding.
The opening and ending specifically reflects the sentiments carried by No Country for Old Men, it's ponderous with foreboding and meditation in equal measure.
Gone Girl boasts outstanding performances, on an obvious level from Rosamund Pike who is most certainly a shoe-in for an Oscar Nomination. Ben Affleck's performance however is what I'm particularly impressed with, he manages to evoke and execute a deftly subtle performance. He incredibly has the ability to stay consistent, yet true to the film's many faces and tones as it progresses. Tyler Perry pops his head up as a brash but brilliant attorney "Tanner Bolt" a role in which I never would have considered him capable, however the film works it's magic in mysterious ways. This is once again a testament to the outstanding directing from David Fincher, I cannot speak more highly of it.
The dark humour present in the film is balanced quite well and adds thin but palpable layer of satire to proceedings. The humour does more than making the characters easy to swallow. It enables the film to strike a tonal balance that keeps the film with the rigour necessary to bring it to it's conclusion.
Overall, Gone Girl is a deliciously nasty film with outstanding performances and sensational direction. It's so much more than something people can stick labels such as "pulp" on.