Movie Review: Gone Girl

In 2014 David Fincher gave the world an incredible film in the form of an adaption of Gillian Flynn’s best-selling novel Gone Girl. When thinking about adaptations in the 2010s the ones most likely to spring to mind would be those of young adult novels or romances, Gone Girl was something so much darker. The thriller stars Rosamund Pike and Ben Affleck as it leads Amy and Nick Dunne. The supporting cast included performances from Neil Patrick Harris and Tyler Perry. 

The film is split into two distinct and clear narratives, Nick’s and Amy’s. The first half of the film follows Nick Dunne (Affleck) as he discovers his wife has gone missing and he tries to work alongside police to find her through clues left by Amy for their 5^th anniversary scavenger hunt (a tradition Amy does every year on their anniversary). When following Nick, we learn of secrets he kept from Amy and also from other people, secrets that some people believe paint Nick as the reason for Amy’s vanishing. The second part of the film follows Amy (Pike) and her side of the story gets revealed.

The film spans a runtime of 149 minutes but honestly feels like it flies by in much less than this. The thriller is filled with twists and turns that keep the audience engaged and captivated for every single second of the duration. Even with its back and forth in time throughout, you never get lost in where you are in the story which makes the characters relationships easy to follow and with both lead performances being absolutely incredible, you cannot help but find yourself waiting in anticipation to see how the story continues to unfold. The score written by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross (both known as members of the band Nine Inch Nails) on their third collaboration with Fincher proves that music really amplifies the film in a different way, the music builds tension in the perfect ways when needed and evokes other feelings when needed. 

The lead performance from Rosamund Pike earned her an academy award nomination for best actress at the 2015 ceremony and there is no denying she steals the show. She treats the character of Amy Dunne in the perfect way making her completely believable as the character. Alongside Pike’s performance there is no denying that Ben Affleck delivers an impeccable performance as Nick Dunne. Both actors bring the characters from the book to life in an incredible way.

As far as the film goes as an adaption, it keeps the essence of the book intact. Even with the film's pretty long runtime there are still a few small and minor details that are missed or changed from Gillian Flynn’s novel. With that being said, it is easily recognisable as the story that Flynn wrote.

Gone Girl is still regularly talked about to this day and remains a highly regarded film in all aspects. The film keeps its audience on the edge of their seats eagerly awaiting how the story will end, and the end is not one that disappoints either, rewarding its viewers with an incredible final scene after an incredible story. Gone Girl will likely still be discussed for many years to come and it would be no shock to see its story be named a classic in later years. 

I would rate this film 5/5.

Written by, Laura Wood