Movie Review: Gone Girl

I don't know if anybody else felt it, but it seemed like there was a big build up to Gone Girl being released.  It's a collaboration between two recent Best Picture winners (Ben Affleck, who won for 2012's Argo, and David Fincher, who won for 2010's The Social Network) and the author of the hugely popular and critically acclaimed 2012 novel, Gone Girl (Gillian Flynn).  And you know what?  it feels like a big film, too.  In a lot of ways, it was like the kind of big film that was Hollywood's bread and butter in the pre-Star Wars days.  It's something you might imagine Hitchcock releasing to great fanfare back in the day.

This is a movie that needs a big star in the middle of it, and Ben Affleck rises to the challenge.  Usually I think he sleepwalks through his roles-- he's often the least good actor in his otherwise admirable directorial efforts-- but Fincher seems to have brought out some nuance in his performance.  He plays a man who comes under a huge amount of media scrutiny once his wife (famous as the inspiration for a children's book character named "Amazing Amy") disappears.  As a celebrity of his caliber, Affleck knows what this kind of scrutiny is like, and he's had his fair share of media mishaps, just like the character he's playing.

But the film is littered with fine performances.  I really loved Carrie Coon, who plays twin sister to Affleck's character; Kim Dickens plays a strong police detective who follows the evidence wherever it goes, even as it zig-zags; even Tyler Perry does an excellent job as the celebrity attorney trying to land the case.  The one person I had reservations about was Rosamund Pike, who plays the missing wife; much of the film is told through the narration of her diary, but her voice didn't always feel convincing.

Then again, maybe that's on purpose.  Nothing in this movie is at is seems-- there are many twists and turns, and it's hard to discuss the film without spoiling things.  Let it suffice to say that David Fincher does an excellent job handling the many layers involved.  I highly recommend this film.