October is the month. Summer blockbusters become a memory as dramatic movies premiere,
starting the race to the awards. October gave us “The Social Network” (2010), “The Ides of March” (2011), “Argo”
(2012), “Gravity” and “Captain Phillips” (2013).
This year, we've got “Gone Girl,” starring Ben Affleck (“Argo,”
“The Company Men,” “The Town”) and Rosamund Pike
(“Jack Reacher”).
Affleck (Nick Dunne) and Pike (Amy)
play a married couple with marital woes. Laid off from their plum writing jobs in Manhattan during the recession, Nick and Amy
relocate to Nick's hometown in Missouri to care for his
cancer-stricken mother. Amy's trust fund finances a local bar that
Nick co-owns with his twin sister, Margo (Carrie Coon). He feels
right at home. Amy, a big city gal and scholar, not so much.
In the morning of their 5th
wedding anniversary, Nick comes home to find the door to his house
open, smashed coffee table, and no sight of Amy. Yet everything
else appears suspiciously neat and immaculate. Detective Rhonda
Boney (Kim Dickens) and officer Jim Gilpin (Patrick Fugit) get called
in and begin to investigate. It becomes very apparent right away
that things are not what they seem.
Nick's nonchalance and unsettling clues
left by Amy, along with Nick's own missteps make him a prime suspect.
Even the introduction of a mistress, Andie Hardy (Emily Ratajkowski)
and stalker ex-boyfriend, Desi Collings (Neil Patrick Harris) as potential suspects do not
take the spotlight off Nick. And in the modern age of media, Nick's
life gets scrutinized and spins. With Amy being
sensationalized as America's sweetheart, Nick is guilty in the eyes
of the public. It doesn't help that Amy's parents (David Clennon and Lisa Banes) end up turning on him.
While continuing to maintain his
innocence, Nick finds himself running out of options and turns to a
slick celebrity defense attorney, Tanner Bolt (Tyler Perry).
Together with Margo's unwavering support, Nick uncovers each layer of
mystery and finds out what really happens.
We learn through flashbacks Nick's and
Amy's relationship from the start, transgressing from lovey-dopey to
cynical, volatile and toxic. And gain insight into them as individuals,
especially Amy. Eventually facades fade and their relationship
degrade.
A force to be reckoned with, Pike
phenomenally handles the multifaceted role, effortlessly alternating
between scared and scary, from soft and sweet to crazed and steely.
Affleck brings in an affable charm, perfectly masking a nonplussed
husband's repressed emotions. Supporting characters turn out strong
performances. Coon as conflicted but ultimately supportive of her
beleaguered twin brother, and Dickens as tough-as-nails detective
who's not easily fooled.
At 149 minutes, the film does feel
long, but deft direction, sharp storytelling, purposeful pacing,
brisk dialogue intermingled with surprising dark humor, accompanied
by an eerie score maintain the suspense and keep us guessing. It's a
focused and fine creation from the director who put forth “The Social Network,” David Fincher. Fincher teams up with the author
of the best-selling novel, Gillian Flynn, who writes the screenplay
here, and Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, Oscar-winning composers for
“The Social Network.”
“Gone Girl” is one of those films
best going in cold. Don't peek into the book. Steer clear from
spoilers. What begins as a whodunit puzzle unfolds as a complex,
character-driven page-turner, ending with a brutally bizarre twist.
Meticulously constructed, “Gone Girl”
is layered with intricacy and laced with dread and wit. A
deliriously diabolical psychological thriller, it won't be gone from
our collective mind anytime soon. “Gone Girl” will remain one of
the most talked-about films of the year.
