dark, unsettling, holds you from start to finish

Rating: Null/10 (5 April 2020)

On the seemingly ordinary morning of his fifth wedding anniversary, apathetic writing teacher Nick Dunne returns home to find his wife Amy missing. Her sudden disappearance, the escalating media frenzy, and the bit by bit reveal that their marriage was anything but ideal paints Nick as the potential culprit-but there's much, much more to the story. Another mind-boggling story efficiently handled by director Fincher, this unsavory combination of murder mystery and intense psychological thriller will keep you guessing throughout, and though the plot twists may not be airtight, they're joyously manipulative and presented in skillful fashion. Affleck is a good anchor for the interminable firestorm that erupts around him, and Pike goes all-out in a tantalizingly twisted performance that will really get under your skin. Slick and well-cast, with a multitude of rounded characters (the shrewd lead investigator, the hotshot defense attorney, the conflicted twin sister) whom you can both loathe and love. ***