Gone Girl May Not be Fincher's A game, but Provides a Bender of Marriage Troubles and Media Creationism

Rating: 7/10 (3 October 2014)

If there's one life lesson that is more important now, especially with the advent of social media is that appearances can be deceiving. Your over at a friends place and you might see a set of photos on the wall. What's portrayed in these memories? A happy wedding? Possibly a Halloween where the kids have smiling faces and a bag full of candy? We come to accept the information given to us from the evidence that everything was fine that day. We don't think about what really goes behind those scenes such might question the material itself. Maybe the kids weren't as excited on that Halloween or maybe the couple getting married was never happy to begin with.
It's becoming harder for optimists like myself to see the world in a better light. We come to expect bad news when we tune to CNN, but when were struck with shocking revelations from our close ones, we'll do everything to deny it. We never want our wholesome images broken down, but when we hear something about a rape or a burglary, depending on the draw, we'll either get an immediate sympathetic human being or the darkest mind to set on foot that becomes the victim of a witch-hunt. Suburban identity and bogus media assumptions are such subjects of Gone Girl.
Bar owner Nick Dunne (played by Ben Affleck) returns home after an outing to discover the scene of a struggle and no trace of his wife Amy (played by Rosamund Pike). The police arrive and start to trace small clues and bring Nick to the station for all information about Amy. His first press conference goes well until a photo of him smiling next to a missing persons poster makes him out to be someone wanting attention.
Nick's twin sister Margo (played by Carrie Coon) allows Nick to stay with her as he tries to piece together what happened. Through the course of the movie, we get flashback's from Amy's journal about how she and Nick were writers living in New York until his mothers illness forced them to move to Missouri. Further evidence has suggested that the marriage had become bitter and Nick had increasingly become more aggressive. Several news outlets, including a morning host Ellen Abbott (played by Missi Pyle) make Nick out to be a psychopath and starts to create more hate for the guy. Even after speaking with Amy's ex boyfriend Desi Collings (played by Neil Patrick Harris) and attorney Tanner Bolt (played by Tyler Perry), were not so sure how much of a reliable narrator Nick may be.
What I've described was about the first half of Gone Girl, as I won't spoil the second. The best part about the movie is that it goes in directions you would not expect. Each idea about our two leads constantly shifts from how we want to see them to their exposure of who they really are. Gone Girl dwells into several territories including identity within a suburban setting and how media can have more control then we realize.
As in most David Fincher movies, this has the familiar dark and stylish tone we've come to expect. In terms of subject matter, I don't consider this his best work. The film perhaps takes a tad too much time building out our two leads and I honestly got board before we learn more about Amy. For a movie that already makes it clear were not going to get a clear answer, it likes to stay put.
As is, both Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike excel as our doomed couple. At first I questioned about why Affleck was casted to play himself, until I realized that most people on the news that are accused of killing their spouses have a smug look upon them. Affleck fits the role perfectly as someone who would have a hard sell as a honest Joe. Though I cannot give away why, Pike may have now given us one of the most frightening personas of the year. Here's your latest Hollywood monster for your Halloween parties.
I'll give this eight breaking news notices out of ten. Though I wish Gone Girl was trimmed and structured a tad smoother, it's actors carry the unnerving scenario all the way to make you consider married couples and the sacrifices they make to keep up with status quo.