Brilliant plot and meticulous direction depicting twisted love story wrapped in a thriller

Rating: 9/10 (10 November 2014)

Gone Girl is so enticing that I watched it two times. Then I read the original and found there are even more details not shown in the movie which could have made the movie a little more complete.
In terms of the movie, it excels on all counts: script, direction, acting, music and editing. A totally thrilling experience with many twists and turns while giving you some slacks to reflect on love/marriage and the role of media in our society. A great movie.
Good pacing and capturing from the start: Ben Affleck is quite good in portraying the frustrated, mediocre, and frightened husband Nick Dunne who is just human: a simple-minded kidult who might occasionally be naughty but way less controlling, calculative or manipulative. A writer in New York, he moves back to his hometown in Missouri with his beautiful Harvard-graduate wife (a New York native) to care for his dying mother. After his mom died, they stay on and he teaches writing at a community college.
His beautiful wife Amy (Rosamund Pike), also a writer in New York, is missing on their fifth anniversary. But Nick seems to be too relaxed to the Police. Evidences begin to emerge, suggesting that Nike may have killed Amy. Nick denies repeatedly.
The drama starts with two parallel lines: Nick's search for Amy in real life and Amy's narration of their marriage through a diary. These two descriptions merge half way and more surprising drama follows. Without giving too much details and spoiling the suspense, let's just say it is very enjoyable to follow the development. To me, it is always engaging to see how smart Amy is molded into the way she becomes by her psychologists parents. Ever since her childhood, she has been living in an illusion. It is tragic in a way because she cannot face her real self.
Nick is manipulated by multiple forces in the movie as if he is a victim. It is almost comical to see how the media sneers at the underdog and how we could turn the situation around if we know how to play the game and change public opinion overnight. But then we could also be trapped by the image we created for ourselves.
It is very interesting how the gender is contrasted in this movie: three main female characters - Amy, Nick's twin sister Margo (Carrie Coon) and the detective Rhonda Boney (Kim Dickens) are brilliantly portrayed with confidence and intelligence. Even Amy's mom and the TV anchorwomen are strong personalities who like to take charge. On the contrary, Nick and Amy's ex-boyfriends appear to be victims of some sort, either because men generally do not think clearly when it comes to women or some women are just too dominant
As for marriage, Amy and Nick seem to be the perfect couple until things turn sour when they show their real self. Their relationship is portrayed as a lifelong torture with endless deceit, mind games and mutual manipulation. They both pretend to be someone they are not really are to get what they really want. Pathetic and ridiculous at the same time.
The accompanying score is perfect in expressing the mood of the characters and the urgency of the plot development. The direction is great as the details are carefully paved and punchlines neatly paced so you would be awed and chuckle alternatively. Not a single frame is wasted and the 149 minutes drift by swiftly. The novel gives more background on character motivations and tie some loose ends in the movie.
The overall achievement is so good that I would not be surprised if Gone Girl receives multiple Oscar nominations/prizes, especially Best Actress, Best Direction, Best Script and Best Score. The original novel is equally enjoyable.