Gone Girl

Gone Girl – 149min – R

This movie is surprising. It’s defiantly not what you expect. The trailer does a perfect job of giving you the feeling of the film and entices you in without giving anything away. This is a well-made film and expands into a whole new level of creepy. Imagine if the 1991 film He Said, She Said were darker and written by sociopaths. Then you have some idea of what this green light film has to offer.

Nick Dunne (Ben Affleck) and his wife Amy (Rosamund Pike) are having problems. They are the normal problems couples have if they fall out of love and the pressures of life are weighing down on them. Nick goes and sees his sister, Margo (Carrie Coon) at the bar they both own. When he returns home he finds signs of a struggle and his wife gone. Nick is completely clueless to how his wife disappeared you start to wonder if you have the whole story. What happens then must be seen to be believed. It’s hard to replay more about this film when I don’t want to give away too much. This move is best experienced.

The amazing thing about this film is its ability to provide clues, yet keep the whole story a mystery until the end where you can see all three sides of the story: his side, her side and the truth. I’m still wrapping my head around how completely broken a few of the characters are. I feel manipulated and I wasn’t even in the story.

Movies sometimes provide lessons to the viewers. For example Basic Instinct was a cautionary tale about infidelity. In Sleeping With the Enemy you have a woman who feels free but in reality her nightmare of a spouse shows back up again, warning us that things will come back to haunt us. I still don’t know what message this movie is imparting, or at least I can’t and not give away huge parts of the plot. If you want to talk more about this drop me a line at Fatsamuraireviews@gmail.com .

David Fincher continues to impress with his storytelling and his wonderful ability to build pressure and deliver the goods. Not surprising there, but what I really enjoyed was the story itself. I have been told that the movie guts the novel but as you know direct translations to film never work out so you have to make sacrifices.

I think the important parts of the book were relayed in the film because I would be interested in reading it based on my experience with the movie. Gillian Flynn was the one who wrote the novel and the screenplay so the story's creator had some control of what the end result was. Gillian Flynn does pen a good story.

This gripping story is definitely going to make this one of my favorites even if Neil Patrick Harris plays a complete creep in it, showing off his range. I recommend it to anyone who enjoys a Fincher film.

If you have seen the film, tell me what you thought did it end the way you were expecting it to? I know I was surprised.