Great Thriller

Rating: 7/10 (4 October 2014)

The premise seems pretty simple, something taken from a sad news story in Anytown, USA. Nick Dunn (Ben Affleck) returns home on the day of his 5th wedding anniversary after a routine morning. He discovers the front door of his home is open, a broken coffee table and overturned furniture in the living room, and his wife Amy (Rosamund Pike) is missing. He immediately calls the police and a detective and an officer arrive at his home. They quickly notice things that allude Nick. He agrees to go with them to the police station for questioning and he is soon released.
Nick contacts Amy's parents, his twin sister Margo (Carrie Coon), and the story quickly gathers national attention. Nick's detached, casual demeanor and sometimes inappropriate, cringe inducing behavior during a press conference, a large gathering of volunteers to search for Amy and a vigil soon make him suspect number one in the news media. The officer is sure of Nick's guilt as evidence of foul play unravels that leads to directly to Nick, but the detective has doubts.
The story then changes gears from the usual missing person's case. It twists, tangles, and hurls you along in a jaw dropping, you-must-be-freaking-kidding-me maze and weaves in flashbacks from the recent past. I do not wish to write anything else to avoid spoilers.
"Gone Girl" captures the intriguing and bizarre story of a marriage gone terribly (understatement) wrong and the role the media plays in deciding the guilt or innocence of someone accused of a crime. Rosamund Pike is brilliant as Amy, a calculating, manipulative, intelligent, focused, driven, confident woman on a mission. Carrie Coon gives a raw performance as Nick's sympathetic, supportive and emotionally distraught twin sister. The supporting cast is excellent, especially Neil Patrick Harris as Desi Collings, Amy's smooth talking and creepy ex-boyfriend, and Tyler Perry as Tanner Bolt, Nick's high profile attorney who has a great sense of humor. I also love Missi Pyle as Ellen Abott, a cable TV host who has an uncanny resemble to Nancy Grace and captures the judge, jury and executioner style of some news reporting. And the music of Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross blends in well with the film. Ben Affleck is a disappointment for me because he does not immerse himself fully into the character. But he comes so close, is right on the edge, but he does not make the leap. I see Ben Affleck on the screen not completely in the moment, not Nick Dunn.
Last year I read the novel "Gone Girl" by Gillian Flynn and there are parts of it that I strongly disliked. Does the author, who adapted the screenplay, make any major changes for the movie? You'll have to see the movie to discover the answer to this question.