One Of The Best Films Ever Made About Media Culture

Rating: 10/10 (7 March 2015)

If many movie goers considered Left Behind that starred Nicholas Cage up for the race the worst movie of the year in 2014,then Gone Girl definitely one up for best movie during that same year.Based on Gillian Flynn's novel of the same title and the same screenwriter of the film,David Finch provides us another seemingly effortless directorial effort in this complex and complicated crime thriller which seemingly is disguised as a dark comedy despite the fact that the comedic scenes are far from being overt and obvious.
Gone Girl features Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike together with Neil Patrick Harris,Carrie Coon,Kim Dickens, Missi Pyle and Tyler Perry.Set in Missouri,it tells the story of a Nicholas Dunne and the events that goes on after her wife has gone missing on their 5th wedding anniversary.It was a critically acclaimed film and a commercially successful movie that made $368 million at the box office.Pike got an Oscar nomination playing the wife,Amy Dunne.Also,it comprises thematic elements such as unreliable narratives from different characters like Nick and Amy;our media culture especially when it defines what it means to be "popular" and "guilty"; and the detective storyline that provides surprising twists and turns that maybe classified as similar to films made by Alfred Hitchcock.Added to that,it also provides a theme of manipulation wherein different characters manipulate each other and how the media manipulate the public by providing a public broadcast on how people should view public personalities involved in the news.
The main story as I have stated earlier is about the disappearance of Amy and the events that happen.There are two segments initially told in parallel in the first half of the film.One segment provides a narrative wherein Nick becomes worried after learning that her wife is missing and the events that ensues.The other segment is the narrative provided by Amy in the entries of her diary which updates us from the time she and Nick first meet together until the problems of their marriage arise when they transferred from New York to Missouri when they both lost their job.Then things become exciting and unsettling on the third narrative wherein the truth is revealed wherein Amy is apparently not killed and has decided to frame her husband for the unhappiness and unfaithfulness he brought her into their marriage. We get to see different media personalities.We get to see some resolution to the some of the events that happen.Finally,we get to see both Amy and Nick brought back together under one roof.Many viewers felt disappointed that it never offered a clear resolution and conclusion at the end.But it only made it what it was supposed to be: unsettling.Just like most of the events that happened in the story.
The performances were definitely good.That includes Ben Affleck.Although he will always be an average actor to me in my opinion,he definitely did not good work as the average and weak husband,Nick.Rosamund Pike was obviously outstanding as Amy as she convincingly played the smart wife,Amy.Special mention should also be given to Carrie Coon and Kim Dickens as Nick's sister,Margo and Detective Rhonda Boney respectively.
As a crime thriller,this definitely does not follow the same trend of many movies of the same genre of that being predictable and by- the-numbers.It may have delivered what is supposed to be expected somewhat early that probably affected the progression of the story.But nevertheless,it still managed to provide joy and entertainment as it was creative,imaginative and inventive in its latter parts especially with the surprisingly unrealistic actions of the characters involved and the unexpected decisions that they later make towards the end.
To conclude my review,watching this movie will definitely provide tons of satisfaction to the viewer.