POSITIVES: ✔The performances are great from most of the cast, especially Ben Affleck, Rosamund Pike, Tyler Perry, and Carrie Coon. ✔It's a beautiful looking movie thanks to cinematographer Jeff Cronenweth. ✔The plot has several twists and turns that keep you guessing what's going to happen next. NEGATIVES: ✘It's a little too long ✘Neil Patrick Harris is miscast, despite doing a good job. ✘It has a very abrupt ending that I found to be weak. BOTTOM LINE: With David Fincher's fantastic direction, along with a great cast, music, and cinematography, "Gone Girl" is a fantastic thriller that proves Fincher is an expert in the genre. If Ben Affleck were actually playing Bruce Wayne/Batman in this movie, the case of his missing wife would've been solved the day she disappeared. Gone Girl is based off the novel of the same name by Gillian Flynn who also wrote the film's screenplay. It follows Nick Dunne, (Ben Affleck) a man who returns home one day to discover that his wife Amy (Rosamund Pike) is missing, and it happens to be on their fifth year anniversary. With the support of the police, his twin sister, and a really good attorney, Nick is destined to find his missing wife, as the search leads to several twists and turns. The less said about the plot the better. This movie is very comfortable ground for director David Fincher. (Se7en, Fight Club, and The Social Network) It's a thriller with several twists and turns and of course it's a phenomenal movie. It has several of his trademarks such as the ominous score from Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross as well as some beautiful cinematography from Jeff Cronenweth who previously worked with Fincher on Fight Club, The Social Network, and his remake of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Those elements along with Fincher's direction makes it easy to tell that it's his movie. It's also got a terrific cast who all do a fine job. Ben Affleck is really good in the lead role and while his strengths may be more in directing than acting, he still shows that he is a very capable actor. Rosamund Pike is great in her role also, however it's hard to really describe her performance without giving away some kind of spoiler, at least for those who haven't read the book. The one actor who I was surprised by was Tyler Perry. I've always viewed him as some sort of joke, especially with the Madea movies, but he was actually really good in this movie. It shows that he is definitely a better actor than he is a director. Special praise goes to Carrie Coon who plays Dunne's twin sister. She comes off as witty, but also stressed and beat down. Despite her negative feelings for Amy and all of the trouble that she goes through with all of the twist and turns of the plot, she is always supportive of Nick. While I don't consider this movie to be Best Picture material the cinematography, the music and Carrie Coon's performance are elements that I hope the Academy gives attention to. There are a few issues that I had. The movie is a little too long. Although I was never bored, the film could've been trimmed by maybe ten of fifteen minutes. There is also one actor that I felt was miscast and that was Neil Patrick Harris. He plays Amy's ex-boyfriend and while he is good, I never believed that he was her ex, but more like her gay best friend and admittedly that's because he's actually gay in real life. It's why we love NPH, but he just didn't work for me in this role. Lastly, I wasn't a fan of the ending. It's not exactly what happened in the ending but more like how the movie ended, and I have a feeling that it's going to divide some people. Despite those small complaints, Gone Girl is a really well made movie. Beautiful cinematography, a very atmospheric score and great acting and direction. It might stick around for one of my favorite movies of the year, but there were so many great movies released in this year that it's hard to tell.
