Movie review: Gone Girl (2014)

Gone Girl is a twisted tale of a marriage gone bad. It's based on the novel by Gillian Flynn, who also wrote the excellent screenplay. The director is David Fincher (Fight Club, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo), so of course things aren't what they seem, and the violence is efficient and purposeful.

The title's appropriateness becomes apparent midway through the movie -- this is the story of the "gone girl," or Amy Dunne. English actress Rosamund Pike (a Bond villainess!) shines as the "complicated" wife of Ben Affleck's Nick Dunne.

The movie begins with Nick musing, "What have we done to each other?" as he strokes Amy's hair. Then the story kicks into gear, as Nick comes home on the day of their fifth anniversary to find an apparent break-in and his wife missing. Lead detective Rhonda Boney (a fabulous Kim Dickens) begins to uncover clues that point to Nick's complicity. Meanwhile, Nick's twin sister (a similarly great Carrie Coon) begins to suspect that her brother is hiding something. As the media circus and personal attacks escalate, Nick hires lawyer Tanner Bolt (Tyler Perry), notorious for getting "wife killers" off the hook.

That's as much as I can say without spoiling the movie. I can say that the soundtrack is terrific.

Okay, fine, here's a little teaser: it's Chasing Amy but with [REDACTED] as the theme instead of sexuality and friendship. Just kidding, I've never seen Chasing Amy. But this movie could've taken that title if it didn't already exist as an Affleck movie.

Also, speaking of Benny, he is huge. His hulking shoulders are almost as distracting as his chin. His Batman and Henry Cavill's Superman are just gonna be flexing their muscles for the whole Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, aren't they.

TL; DR: An outstanding thriller. More fun to watch if married or thinking about getting married. Or divorced.

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