Amazing Amy and Her Disappearing Act

Rating: 7/10 (25 December 2014)

It's difficult for me to recommend this movie too highly because I like movies with a resolution at the end. And there is no resolution at the end of this one.
That being said, this is still a fascinating flick – well crafted and well acted.
In a way, this movie is a repackaged version of Body Heat, a classic in the thriller genre made more than 30 years ago. Amazing Amy Dunne, played by Rosamund Pike, is like the Matty Walker who was played by Kathleen Turner in the classic. She is brilliant, far more than anyone truly recognizes including her hapless husband Nick (played by Ben Affleck) who, like the lawyer Ned Racine (William Hurt) in Body Heat, is manipulated and played for the fool that he is.
As it happens in real life, some men marry up. Nick did and as a result, finds himself in a marriage with a woman he doesn't fully comprehend and after a hot, passionate start to their marriage, she becomes weary of Nick. After all, Nick's idea of an ideal evening is playing video games or "watching a marathon of reality TV with his hand in his underwear." Adversity complicates the stress in their married life. Both have lost their jobs in the Great Recession. They move to North Carthage, Missouri in order to be close to Nick's mom who is struggling with breast cancer but loses her battle. Now, after 5 years of marriage, both Nick and Amy want out. Nick knows what he needs to do. He needs to pursue a divorce, but can't bring himself to actually carry it out. Amy knows what she is going to do, and has planned her exit in meticulous detail.
Amy disappears. What happened to her? We in the audience don't know. Evidence begins to build against Nick, and he becomes the prime suspect. We are sympathetic to Nick. We know in our heart that Nick didn't kill his wife. Here is a mystery to be solved. And then we learn that Nick is a dog. Now, our emotions begin to shift against the guy.
But at this point, the movie begins giving us more information about Amy, and our emotions shift once again. We come to realize what a cunning and manipulative woman she really is.
And then, something happens in the movie that I really liked because it provides the proof that regardless of how prescient we think ourselves to be, some things happen that just can't be predicted. Amy is mugged and finds herself literally on the street.
I don't want to give too much away, but let me say that the ending is not really an ending. It's clear that Nick and Amy cannot continue in the situation where they find themselves at the end of the movie, but will Nick do? Or if he doesn't do anything, what will Amy eventually do to Nick? This should lead to some lively speculative discussions among those who have seen the movie.