Dark, stylish and oh so suspenseful

Rating: 8/10 (3 October 2014)

David Fincher is actually one of my favorite directors particularly for his Neo-Noir thrillers like Se7en and Zodiac, though he's probably better known for things like The Social Network and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Fincher, in a word, is an artist. He creates incredibly intricate and memorable settings for his films through his unique and highly stylistic visuals. Every scene in every film is crucial to the exposition of the story and has been painstakingly defined to be as impressionistic as possible. Fincher is known for being a relatively challenging director that often requires countless takes for a single shot as to get it perfectly aligned with the his vision for the film. But what's the result? His films are precise, beautiful, and often lend themselves to creating unmatched feelings of suspense and realistic psychological horror, and Gone Girl is no exception.
Ben Affleck (Argo, Good Will Hunting) and the lovely Rosamund Pike (The World's End) star in this unforgiving commentary on modern marriage and on the detriments of sensationalism. Neil Patrick Harris and Tyler Perry also provide strong supporting roles alongside the other more minor characters of the film. The story is that Nick Dunne (Affleck) arrives home one day to find that his wife Amy (Pike) is missing under suspicious circumstances. The Dunnes are both talented writers that live in the small town of New Carthage, Missouri along with Nick's twin sister (Carrie Coon) and father. As the story of Amy's disappearance begins sweeping the town and state, Nick's character comes under increasing scrutiny after some of Amy's blood is found in the kitchen of their home and he naturally is suspected of having committed foul play. Certain things are revealed that seemingly vilify Nick although his guilt is still in question since people like NPH - a revealed stalker of Amy - are introduced that cast a shadow of a doubt in the audience's mind. That's basically all I can say without giving the twists and turns of the story, but they should be fairly easy to guess with enough Law and Order under your belt.
The entire cast has a certain authenticity to them ranging from the overzealous neighbor that's out to crucify Affleck's character to the tenacious detective played by Kim Dickens. I was even surprised by Affleck in this movie as he doesn't seem like a caricature but rather a genuine every-man who has his situation go from bad to worse. It was actually Rosamund Pike that really blew me away in this film, not simply because she's absolutely gorgeous, but because her role as Amy illustrates the actress's diverse abilities on screen. Much like the movie Laura (1944) and how it propelled the strikingly beautiful Gene Tierney to stardom, I see Gone Girl having a similar effect on Pike's fairly relatively infant career. Until now she's played a few minor supporting roles in less than noteworthy films like Miranda Frost in Die another Day or Andromeda in Wrath of the Titans, but I have really started to take notice since her appearance in Edgar Wright's The World's End as Sam Chamberlain. My guess is you'll be seeing a lot more of the charming British actress in years to come.
If you want a good head-start on your Oscar watch-list, this would probably be a wise place to start. Affleck and Pike will no doubt be nominated in the best actor/actress categories respectively, and I see Gone Girl taking home a few other various awards like Best Original Score for Trent Reznor and Atticus Rose's accompanying soundtrack.It might even sneak into the Best Picture category, though I don't see it as a clear front-runner. Fincher once again delivers a beautifully crafted suspense thriller that will leave you guessing until the very end and forever questioning your spouse's inner thoughts and intentions.
Read this and other reviews on the DriveInZeppelin website.