For me it’s “Gone Girl – The perfect victim‘ close (very, very close!) to being the perfect thriller. This begins with Gillian Flynn’s excellent screenplay adaptation of her own best-selling novels* and continues with the brilliant camera work of Jeff Cronenweth (“Fight Club”) and the cast, who are still top notch even in the supporting roles. All of these elements are held together by director David Fincher’s (“Seven”) masterful productions – telling a chillingly exciting, yet always believable and compelling story.
“Gone Girl” isn’t just a top shelf glossy thriller as far as I’m concerned. At the end of 2014, it entered the top 10 of the most important American publications. And our official FILMSTARTS review also awards the well-deserved top five star rating.
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That’s what Gone Girl on Disney+ is all about
From the outside, journalist Nick Dunne (Ben Affleck) and his wife Amy (Rosamund Pike) are a dream couple. Behind the beautiful facade, however, the climate between them has long since cooled, even downright icy. Nick lost his job in New York and the two were forced to move to provincial Missouri, which Amy hates, where the man now runs a bar with his sister Margo (Carrie Coon).
Despite the duo’s troubles, Nick is shocked when – after an argument the night before – he comes home on the morning of their fifth wedding anniversary to find signs of a struggle in the house, while his wife has disappeared without a trace. Was Amy kidnapped or maybe even murdered? Nick alerts the police (Kim Dickens, Patrick Fugit). However, in their eyes and in the eyes of the media who knew about the case, he soon became the prime suspect himself. What happened here?
An intriguing story and characters
It’s just amazing to watch the proverbial noose tighten around Ben Affleck’s character’s neck as he tries to extricate himself from the situation. The Oscar winner (“Good Will Hunting”) must have enjoyed playing this versatile role.
He is surrounded by a Rosamund Pike (“I Care A Lot”), who is never completely predictable, a very intelligent and tough acting Kim Dickens (“Fear The Walking Dead”) and Neil Patrick Harris (“How I Met Your Mother” ). The emotional, as well as moral soothing factor in all this madness is provided by my personal favorite in the cast: Carrie Coon (“Ghostbusters: Legacy”), whose Margo should certainly serve as a role model for many other viewers in this story as well.
The best thing about Gone Girl, though, is that the credit-rolling fun is far from over. Thanks to the clever structure of the surprising twists (the finale in particular is incredible and should give some surprised outrage when the penny drops!), the situations and the characters that play in them continue to have an effect on the audience’s mind for days. Try it yourself. I would be very surprised if this is not the case for you.
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