Be warned: There are moments in David Fincher’s “Gone Girl” that will make audiences lose their minds and grasp their armrests.
The best way to describe Fincher’s latest film is as a thrill ride. As soon as audiences anticipate the plot heading in a certain direction, it swerves swiftly the other way.
Up and down, over and around. This is a thrill and a heck of a mystery. And some scenes may not be for the faint of heart.
The opening sequence of “Gone Girl” features three-second shots around town as a haunting score from Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross builds.
The scene of the crime never sounded so eerie.
A score from this same Oscar-winning duo helped elevate Fincher’s “The Social Network” to precision and evoked a similar feeling of suspense.
But with “Gone Girl,” this is suspense on a whole new level.
Telling audiences who plan to see this movie to hold on to their seats may not be enough. They may need a helmet and kneepads.
The movie, adapted from the best-selling novel of the same name by Gillian Flynn, follows Nick Dunne (Ben Affleck) whose wife Amy, played with cunning perfection by Rosamund Pike, comes up missing on the couple’s fifth wedding anniversary.
Throughout the 149-minute film, audiences are given glimpses at what may or may not have happened to Amy. As curiosity and attention from neighbors and then the country builds, the details of exactly how Amy disappeared unravel like the layers of an onion. But what is revealed is something remarkably unpredictable — no spoilers here.
Also along for the ride in the film is Detective Rhonda Boney (Kim Dickens), who helps drive the drama forward. Attorney Tanner Bolt (Tyler Perry) and Nancy Grace-like anchor Ellen Abbott (Missi Pyle) add life and depraved yet realistic humor to the story. Carrie Coon also delivers a strong performance as Nick’s twin sister Margo.
With such a list of impressive performances, “Gone Girl” almost has it all.
The story falls short in the denouement however, by attempting to wrap everything up with a nice red bow and unnecessarily speeding up a calculatingly deliberate pace.
But the experience along the way is definitely worth the ride. Just grab a helmet.
/ 5
Official trailer:
Rated R for a scene of bloody violence, some strong sexual content/nudity and language.
Listen to the soundtrack:
