Gone Girl Movie Review

Note: This posts contains spoilers, so if you haven't read the book and want to see the movie, come back to this post after!

I've loved Gone Girl ever since it came out. Gillian Flynn is a master story teller (check out her other novels if you haven't read them already) and drew me in right away. I read the book upon release, so that was over two years ago. When I found out it was being made into a movie, I could not wait. I had really high expectations and this did not disappoint. Gillian Flynn also wrote the screenplay, so I knew it would stay close to the film and have that same excellent writing.

First of all, let's talk about the casting decisions. Every single character was extremely spot on. Ben Affleck as Nick Dunne easily captured the confusion, distance, and determination of the character. The real standout was Rosamund Pike--Amy is certainly not an easy character to play, and I'd never seen her in anything, so it was a pleasant surprise. Smaller roles featuring Neal Patrick Harris and Tyler Perry were also great, and it was nice to see them featured in more serious roles.

I had forgotten this takes place mostly in a small town in Missouri, and Fincher does a great job of capturing the loneliness and desperation that one can feel there. The scene aesthetics seemed great, and I truly felt like I was a part of the film. I remembered the general gist of the story but had forgotten what happens once Amy runs away. It's crazy enough that she hid in a cabin and got her money stolen, then conned Desi into taking care of her (then killed him), but then she has the audacity to come back to Nick. She thrives from the media attention but the icing on the cake is that she's pregnant. Nick, being the good guy deep down that he is, stays with her for the sake of the child. As if the marriage wasn't fucked up enough before, now knowing that she had no problems with him potentially going to jail, she has control over him with a coming child.

Fincher really delves into how their marriage starts out so wonderful, and then becomes slowly destroyed. The flashbacks in NYC are cultivated carefully, and even the score really helped to create the mood. The film is 2.5 hours, which normally feels like an eternity to me, but I was captivated by the film and was left wanting more. A surefire film to see, even if you have read the book.

I've been feeling kind of a blogging rut lately, so let me know what types of things you want to see or anything you want to see reviewed!