150 Minutes of Tension and Intrigue

Rating: 9/10 (28 June 2015)

The impact of the social commentary in this movie doesn't really hit one until the next day after seeing this film. While watching it, one is so tied up in the characters and labyrinthine plot that it is easy to overlook the examinations into the role of the media in our world (not to mention the roles of marriage, lawyers, public opinion and the legal system).
Some have compared this movie favorably, and well, to Hitchcock's best works. Whereas Hitchcock tended to direct movies that moved towards "just" endings for their characters, this story is really not about justice. This story is about presenting complex, life-like characters in an extraordinary situation and then coming to a logical conclusion based upon those characters. Life isn't always just... or maybe it is in this case. I don't know.
At 150 minutes long, it is obvious that David Fincher is taking his time with the material. The slow, even pacing is very important to the film as so much is happening in it and it needs to be absorbed by the viewer. The movie's stately progression is also necessary in order to present all the important players as 'real people'. The characters, some of whom are rather bizarre, never seem forced. I was never once bored throughout the duration although I finally had to break down and go pee with 10 minutes left in the movie. (Note to Self: Empty bladder before watching this movie and do not drink soda during it.) Is is a spoiler to say that the 'missing wife' in the story is not dead? I hope not as this plot twist is offered up rather early in the movie. But by the point of this revelation, a juggernaut of events has been started that seems impossible to resolve. These events are fueled by lust, greed, loyalties forged and broken, media judgment, public hysteria and police officers misguidedly trying to do their best to figure out the whole mess.
The acting is uniformly good... well, even excellent... but going into individual performances would make this a long review indeed.
To some up: This is a movie in which to immerse yourself. Get comfortable before you watch it and let it take you on its journey. It will stay in the back of your mind and you will ponder parts of it for a long time after you have watched it.