Lot of hype leading up to this one, and it is rare that the film lives up to that, but Gone Girl mostly does. If you’ve been to pretty much any movie in the last month or so you’ve seen a preview for this one, so there were no surprises going in. It is the story of Amy (Rosamund Pike) gone missing, with few clues to her disappearance, and the police (and the nation, in today’s media frenzy style) turning on her estranged husband Nick (Ben Affleck) as the primary suspect.
The movie is based on a very popular book, which I had not read (though my wife read it twice!). It is a decent mystery-style film, with twists and turns to keep the viewer on their toes. Even you do not know for sure if Nick did it or not, with Amy’s journal entries along the way painting a pretty severe picture of him as a man with a dark side. There are two big surprises in the film, the first I sort of saw coming, the second came out of left field, but both will keep your attention until the very end.
There is some early Oscar buzz for Affleck in this film. Honestly I thought he was ok but not stellar, though Pike on the other hand is superb. For me, after the big thrills quiet down, the ending was a little paint-by-numbers, but it is still a satisfying film. The director, David Fincher, has been on a roll the last couple years, and this film continues his ride.
Jons Movie Takes 