Review of Gone Girl (2014) by Spangle — 10 Oct 2014

Damn, Gone Girl really ropes you in and does not let go until the final bell tolls, which is very impressive for a film that is two and a half hours long. At really no point does it lag and while it is certainly very slow at times, it never becomes boring and leaves you hanging on the edge of your seat for much of it.

Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike are stellar here, as are Neil Patrick Harris and (oddly) Tyler Perry. The cast, on paper, seemed odd, but in practice, David Fincher shows why he is one of the best around and got the best out of everybody.

The general feel and mood of the film is also brilliant and entirely chilling. However, beyond the whole murder mystery type deal, the most interesting part to me here was the total indictment of the media and the 24 hour news cycle, which Fincher does a great job showcasing throughout and how the media will believe just about anything and then jump to conclusions based off of what small information they may have.

The twists and turns here are also very interesting and the script from Gillian Flynn is very strong. The way the story was told at times was odd, but that would be my only complaint really and it was nothing major.

As a whole, this is certanly not Fincher's best work (Seven, Fight Club, and Zodiac, would be my top three from him), but it is certainly not his worst (excluding Alien 3) and is overall, a very well made, well acted thriller that will leave you wanting more.

Would be surprised if Affleck and Pike are not major contenders at the Oscars.