Enormously entertaining

Rating: 10/10 (11 October 2014)

I stepped away from horror for a few hours on Saturday to see this. I wasn't particularly eager to see it, but the reviews were too good for me to skip. I must say, it's amazing. I always say that Fincher is a good director, but he's completely dependent on the material he's given. Fortunately, the material here (a novel by Gillian Flynn, with a screenplay written by her) is excellent, and Fincher paces it beautifully. Also backing it up wonderfully is another great score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross. The story shouldn't be gone into too much - though I knew the two major twists and still followed along with giddy enjoyment to every moment - but it opens with unhappy husband Ben Affleck discovering that his wife, Rosamund Pike, has gone missing. Evidence points heavily towards him, but he insists of his innocence. Soon the whole world seems against him. My favorite part of the film was the satire of the 24 hour news media. Missi Pyle is great as a loathsome TV news host obviously based on Nancy Grace. There are tons of excellent supporting performances, including Carrie Coon, Kim Dickens, Tyler Perry (yes, he's good!), Neil Patrick Harris, Patrick Fugit, Casey Wilson and Emily Ratajkowski amongst others. My second favorite film of 2014 so far and Fincher's best work ever.