Movie Review: Gone Girl (2014)

Synopsis:

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“Gone Girl is a 2014 American psychological thriller film directed by David Fincher and written by Gillian Flynn, based on her 2012 novel of the same name. The film stars Ben Affleck, Rosamund Pike, Neil Patrick Harris and Tyler Perry. Set in Southwest Missouri, the story begins as a mystery that follows the events surrounding Nick Dunne (Affleck), who becomes the primary suspect in the sudden disappearance of his wife, Amy (Pike).” (Source: Wikipedia)

Review:

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Film adaptations rarely live up to the hype of their book counterparts. Gone Girl, the film, is surprisingly on par. Of course, the film is subject to many issues adaptations have, such as cramming a full length novel into a single film. Fincher does an excellent job at directing this film. My mother, on the other hand, refuses to ever pick up a novel by Gillian Flynn as a result of this film. (I call that a partial success, as Mom was simply furious with how it ended. As many fans are.)

Though the movie follows the book fairly well,  Rosamund Pike fails at delivering Amy Dunne’s persona. In the book, it is easy to fall in love with Amy; she comes off as a nice, caring girl who unfortunately marries a dickwad. In the film, the manner in which Pike holds herself makes it difficult to develop similar early feelings for Amy. In fact, she seems snobbish.

I don’t research a film before I watch it. It seems a waste of my time. That said, Neil Patrick Harris as Desi Collins is a pleasant surprise, if not comical. I really wish more of his side of things would have been revealed, but that is one of those things that ends up sacrificed in adaptations. Nick’s sister, Margo, also doesn’t receive enough screen time in my opinion.

Overall, Gone Girl‘s film adaptation makes an excellent counterpart to its book – especially if you’re into movies. A certain death scene, for those that have read the book, was beautifully done in the film – to my delight. I don’t exactly see myself re-watching the movie, though. I’d rather re-read the book. You can read my review of the book by clicking here.

Rating: 💀💀💀

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