Finally got to see David Fincher and Ben Affleck's Gone Girl
SPOILER FREE
Let me start off by saying that David Fincher is one of the greatest filmmakers working in mainstream Hollywood today. All of his movies have been fantastic. Alien 3 Assembly Cut is probably his least successful effort quality wise, but that was more of the studios fault than Fincher's. It remains one of the best extended versions of any film outside of James Cameron's directors cuts and the 2004 directors cut of Daredevil. Seven is fantastic, The Game is awesome, Fight Club is a masterpiece, Panic Room is good, Zodiac is really cool, Curious Case of Benjamin Button was a nice departure from Fincher's typical style of making movies, Social Network was a good morality tale about friendship and corruption, Girl with the Dragon Tattoo remains one of the better American remakes in modern day filmmaking, and now we have Gone Girl. What is there to say about Gone Girl?
It's really good and engaging. From the opening monologue that Ben Affleck delivers, you're pulled into this unique and intriguing storyline. It does kinda feel like the real life scenario of Scott Peterson at times, but doesn't go down the same route entirely. This is Affleck's show and he hits the right notes with his part, showing confusion, uncertainty, as well as an ounce of mystery and suspicion. His wife goes missing and even he doesn't know where she's at, or so were led to believe. His wife's disappearance becomes an international media circus, and soon the tables turn when it's suspected that Affleck's character may not be so innocent. The reason I keep drawing comparisons to Scott Peterson's real life story is because this feels very real. The same scenario happened with Peterson's wife going missing and him being suspected of her disappearance and murder. The latter turned out to be painfully true. This movie succeeds because of the strong performance Affleck delivers, making you feel for him but also suspect him once it becomes apparent that he's got a few skeletons of his own. The other great performer in this movie is Rosamund Pike, she's great here. An Oscar nomination is in store for her in the near future. No major spoilers for her but her performance is utterly captivating. Everyone will emerge from this experience completely blown away by her acting and character arc. The supporting cast of Tyler Perry as Affleck's lawyer is surprising good here. They make a great duo and Perry shows that he can do more than just dress up as an old granny in his own directorial efforts. Neil Patrick Harris and Carrie Coon shine here in their respective roles creating a lot of energy for the film, and asking the lead character questions that are going to be on the audience minds. This movie works great after watching Prisoners, as the same style and feel of that movie is present here. That film was heavy much like this one, but what both movies do so well is they project a great feeling of realism to the audience with their stories. When you pay to see this movie, you're going to get exactly what a David Fincher movie showcases, which is brilliant filmmaking.
That's not to say that the film doesn't have a few flaws of it's own. The pacing can be rather slow in the beginning but as the film progresses, things become more intense and exciting. The way the filmmakers chose to end this movie was disappointing, because it feels like there is more to this story that could've been shown with an extra 10 to 15 minutes. The same issue happened with Girl With The Dragon Tattoo where Fincher ends the movie in an awkward spot. Should the ending of Gone Girl gotten more elaboration? Without a doubt because it will leave a lot of audience members anxious to know what happened afterwards, but that's also where the book comes into play. Putting those issues aside, Gone Girl is hands down one of the years best filmmaking achievements, and a movie that is sure to stir up some controversy, maybe some award recognition for it's lead actress in the process. It may also give Batman fans more hope that Affleck can pull off such a complex character like Bruce Wayne, because he is pretty likeable in this part. If you haven't seen this movie yet, it's most definitely worth the 10 bucks. You will not be disappointed.
8.5/10
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