Gone Girl - Movie Experience

Rating: 9/10 (24 July 2016)

Marriage, in most sense, is a socially recognized union between two people that establishes rights and duties between them, including their children and their in-laws. And in most cases, that union doesn't last for a very long time. Questions arise between the spouses that lead to many challenges. What are you thinking? What are you feeling? What have done to each other? What will we do? My first praise goes to the story (or the screenplay) because the common subject of marriage problems after a recession has been beautifully twisted in the most conniving and manipulative manner. The novelist, Gillian Flynn, has penned the screenplay herself. I don't know whose decision was that, but it was a good decision in the end. The unfolding of each character, the non-linear narrative jumping between happy times and bad times of the couple, and the twist that leaves you mesmerized makes us completely attached to the characters. My unique experience from this movie is that my fellow peers had failed to notice many dark humorous dialogues, and most of the times I ended up laughing alone in the theater.
David Fincher, the director, is known for his low lighting shots and again we see them beautifully executed in this movie. Equal praise goes to the cinematographer as well. What was missing in this movie, based on my experience, was his trademark style of wide angled shots. My only guess is that he avoided wide shots to bring the audience closer to the characters, especially the couple, involving them in the characters' own twisted world. The music, directed by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, brilliance at its core, escalated many scenes of the movie and heightened the mysteries surrounding the lead characters.
When it comes to performances, Rosamund Pike (playing Amy Dunne, the wife) stands out more than Ben Affleck (playing Nick Dunne, the husband). Her choice of tone in background narration and on-screen dialogues was soothing and creepy at the same. Special praises go to Rosamund and Ben for meticulously researching about their characters. Special mention goes to Kim Dickens for her amazing supportive performance as Detective Rhonda Boney. On the downside of performances, I was wishing more serious and creepy stuff from Neil Patrick Harris considering that great comedians are known for their portrayal of more serious roles.
The major and only frustration from my movie experience is that I have watched it in Indian cinemas. The nudity scenes were hidden by zooming in on a particular spot of the shot. And the violent and bloody scenes were edited horribly to reduce the gory nature of those scenes. I can empathize to a certain extent of hiding out the nude scenes, but I will never entertain in masking out the violent scenes. The reason I am mentioning this in my article is because it had disturbed my viewing pleasure. When will the Indian censorship board ever learn that they cannot f*** around with the audiences' feelings?