I’ve said it before; I’ll say it again — I don’t think we owe Ben Affleck an apology or anything, but it is time to bring him back to the big table. Gone Girl is almost defiant in its decision to get plenty of play from two of Hollywood’s most notorious film-wreckers, Ben Affleck and Tyler Perry, and yet, I couldn’t get enough of either here. I daresay — and those who know writing may gasp aloud — but I daresay, I really enjoy Tyler Perry so long as he’s not directing himself. He’s extremely easy in front of the camera and most amiable. Just keep him out of the damn dress and in front of the damn camera.
I digress; Gone Girl was a great film even before Tyler showed up.
Unhappy husband Nick (Affleck) returns home to find his wife Amy (Rosamund Pike) gone, hence, you know, Gone Girl. The coffee table is smashed; there are appliances left on. What’s an unfaithful, soon-to-divorce husband to think? Do you hide your exuberance? And do you wince knowing that if a ransom note comes, you’ll have to pay it just to save face? Ah, so many emotions. We don’t really go either of those places. When a wife is gone and the crime scene is, shall we say, not pristine? There’s only one suspect. Did Nick do it? Was this his version of divorce?
For a serious film, there’s a tremendous amount of tongue-in-cheek in Gone Girl. While inspecting the house, Detective Rhonda Boney (Kim Dickens) pulls something from a drawer and announces, “we have our first clue.” The camera shows us an envelope marked, “CLUE ONE,” an annual anniversary hunt arranged by Amy for Nick. You want to laugh out loud and then you remember Amy might be dead in a ditch, and then laugh anyway. It’s fun being removed.
Gone Girl would probably be a strong movie even with lesser actors, but there a metric ton of strong, deftly handled roles: Pick any of the ten most frequent characters in the film and you’ll find a role calling for highs and lows and without exception there’s an actor up to the challenge. This is my favorite ensemble cast of the year. Hats off to 
Affleck, Pike, Dickens, Perry, Neil Patrick Harris, Carrie Coon, Patrick Fugit, David Clennon, Lisa Banes, Missi Pyle and a handful of others.
The film starts as a mystery – I will not give away what happens, suffice to say, however, that David Fincher’s movie suffers a tad from premature elucidation: something I didn’t expect to be revealed until the end actually gets revealed about an hour in. Don’t bemoan this; the film is better for it; in the process, Fincher gets to play marriage arbitrator, detective, psychologist, analyst and sociopath (well, it is a Fincher after all – so there’s bound to be blood at some point).
But I digress. Gone Girl is a gem of a movie. It’s a wickedly conniving and cynical look at marriage. I daresay, the young bachelors, bachelorettes and pansexual bachelorific dinette sets among you won’t quite get what David Fincher does here. But that’s ok; you’ll enjoy the ride, too.
Amy trumps Nick’s expression
Her kidnapping bests his confession
Is this a big gag
Leaving him with the bag?
With these spouses, who needs depression?
Rated R, 149 Minutes
D: David Fincher
W: Gillian Flynn
Genre: Psychological crime
Type of person most likely to enjoy this film: Long married couples
Type of person least likely to enjoy this film: Newlyweds
