Several months back, looking for something to read, I Googled the New York Times best-seller list and up popped the book “Gone Girl.” I’d not heard of it but sales of over 6.5 million copies and months on the list convinced me to give it a try. When I finished reading, I realized that author Gillian Flynn had crafted a mystery quite unlike anything else I had read before. I wasn’t sure if I liked the book or was simply entranced by the unique story, a feeling shared by several others I know who also read it. Quite honestly I left the movie theatre with the same feeling.
To quote others, this is a “dark, psychological thriller,” a perfect description for a story-line about the happy couple, whose marriage heads in a direction that supersedes anything the most experienced marriage counselor would have encountered.
Ben Affleck stars as Nick Dunne, the beleaguered husband in this mystery of mysteries. He returns home one afternoon and his wife Amy, played by Rosamund Pike, is missing from their suburban Missouri home. It appears that a tussle of some kind has taken place, but no clue as to what really happened or where she might be. He quickly contacts the police who discern that foul play of some kind had taken place, and the nightmare begins. Kim Dickens plays detective Rhonda Boney, who tries to piece together the events leading up to the disappearance and, in the process, uncovers one minor clue after another that seemingly points to Nick Dunne as the perpetrator of whatever crime may have taken place.
From this point forward, the story twists and turns in any number of directions, with one surprise after another, popping up. On the downside, there is far too much TV media following the story, with the whole world convinced Nick is guilty of killing his wife, when indeed a body has not yet been found. This was no doubt inspired by the coverage given by the real life channel HNN. The dark undertones of the story are enhanced by the cinematography, which suggests the sun never shines in Missouri, nor are there light bulbs over 50 watts in anyone’s house.
Gone Girl
Entertainment Rating: ★★★
Rating: R: Frequent profanity throughout, several scenes with explicit sex acts, including brief frontal nudity, one particularly bloody and violent scene.
Possible Oscar Nominations: None.
On the positive side, there are outstanding performances from both Affleck and Pike, complemented with fine acting by Carrie Coon as Nick Dunne’s sister and Tyler Perry as his gregarious attorney, Tanner Bolt. The script is fairly loyal to the original story, most likely because Gillian Flynn also wrote the screenplay.
Once again there is far too much profanity and a couple of the other “R” rated scenes are a little too literal for me but this is an engaging tale, and once the movie starts, you’re in for a ride.
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