Sunday 5 October 2014

Review: Gone Girl (2014)

It is difficult to review this film without potentially spoiling it. I read the book last year in preparation for the film, and I think this has affected my love for it. So, the colder you can go in, the better. But, all that is not to say it is not a good movie. In fact, it is very good - great even.

David Fincher is one of those directors that film goers highly anticipate the next feature of. I recently rewatched The Social Network and Zodiac, and loved them. I also rewatched Panic Room, and that is quite enjoyable too. In fact, I don't think Fincher has made a bad film. I'm unsure how this one would fit in with his overall filmography as far as rankings go, but further viewings will help me to figure that out.

Ok, back to Gone Girl. In brief, the plot is about a couple that are about to celebrate their 5th wedding anniversary. Slight catch though - the wife disappears on the morning of it. What follows is a mystery thriller, with fingers slowly pointing in the direction of the husband as the culprit. Ben Affleck plays the husband, and Rosamund Pike is the wife. Both are very good in their roles. There are also some good support roles provided by Kim Dickens, Carrie Coon and Tyler Perry.

If you know Fincher's work, then you can expect a pretty dark ride. The script work is very good, with some funny lines and character interactions being thrown in here and there. The book to screen adaptation is quite faithful. The ending is a bit different, but it is not a major change. I think the ending in the film actually works better than the one in the book.

Overall, I found the build up to the very good finale to be a fun ride. Until the last 45 to 60 mins, I had been feeling the film was not a great as I thought it might be, but the last third or so really helped push it into a great film category for me. It's been only a few hours since I've seen it, and now I actually feel I could watch it again. Whenever you feel that, you know you're onto something special.

Rating:

4 out of 5.

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