The less you know about Gone Girl before seeing it, the better. So you won’t find any spoilers here except for this one: Spend $10 to go see Gone Girl in the theater, and it’ll be worth every penny.
After all, movies are supposed to entertain us. That’s the reason we’re still willing to invest a couple hours in a single activity, put our short attention spans on hold and fork over $13 for a soda and popcorn.
Gone Girl is dark and a bit twisted, but it’s also sprinkled with humor to break some of the tension. It feels all too real at times, which certainly is a reflection of our society’s obsession with high-profile crimes. The cast is electrifying, and the film sucks you in to such a degree that you lose track of the nearly 2.5-hour run time.
Above all, it’s compelling — and wildly entertaining.
If you’re one of the people who have already read the book, you know the kind of roller coaster ride that awaits. I hadn’t read it, so I was surprised by all the developments — and I didn’t mind it one bit. Without giving too much away, Gone Girl is about a Midwestern housewife who suddenly disappears on her fifth anniversary. All signs point to her husband, who gets the Nancy Grace treatment and endures a harsh media spotlight while everyone picks apart his behavior.
Did he kill her? His behavior certainly seems suspicious. Or was she abducted? Was it something else? What happened to her?
Ben Affleck is terrific as the husband, and it probably ranks as one of his best performances. Rosamund Pike, who I wasn’t familiar with before this, is perfect in her role as the wife and the lawyer played by Tyler Perry will make you forget all about Madea. Neil Patrick Harris is also creepily good.
But the real stars are the crisp writing — former Entertainment Weekly TV critic Gillian Flynn adapted her own bestselling novel — and the direction of David Fincher, whose ominous, foreboding style works perfectly for this story.
While I loved Gone Girl and highly recommend it, I don’t think it will be in line for any of the major category Oscars. It’s not really a Best Picture type film, nor are the actors going to get all that much buzz. It reminds me of Fincher’s Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, which didn’t get a Best Picture nom in 2012.
It should still do extremely well at the box office, though, and rightfully so. This film lives up to the hype, and you won’t regret investing your time and money to see it.
Rating: 10 out of 10