Not classic Fincher, but still astounding.

Rating: 9/10 (3 October 2014)

David Fincher's resume is arguably one of the finest among those still working in Hollywood today. Se7en, Fight Club, The Social Network and Zodiac are all modern masterpieces; his latest, Gone Girl, is not in that league. Yet, like Panic Room, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, even second-tiered Fincher is fantastic. His direction here is more understated than usual, the Fincher trademarks – sudden outbursts of violence, grimly lingering camera movements, misleading shots – only becoming noticeable in the final act. He wisely allows Gillian Flynn's flip-flopping narrative enough room to breathe (Flynn's script changing direction from her own best selling novel which provides the source material), the multiple perspectives and hidden meanings ensuring you never know who to side with. It's not just plot twists and turns that keep you enthralled though, Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike are superb as the complicated married couple; their chemistry-turned- tension is scintillating. Affleck's career turnaround – after three astonishing directorial efforts plus impressive performances in The Town and Argo – is now complete, whilst this will hopefully be the role that finally propels Pike onto the A-list where she belongs. If there's a gripe to be had it's the final few minutes, with a downbeat and ambiguous finale not as satisfying as it could've been. But this is a minor quibble in what is otherwise a captivating, intriguing and beautifully complex motion picture.