Cindy Prascik's Review of Gone Girl

Dearest Blog, yesterday I headed out to the cinema for one of the year's most-anticipated titles, Gone Girl.

Spoiler level here will be mild, nothing you wouldn't know from the trailers.

Ben Affleck (Batman! Batman! Batman!) stars as Nick Dunne, a man who becomes a suspect in the disappearance of his wife, Amy (Rosamund Pike).

I haven't read the book on which Gone Girl is based, so no comparisons here as to how the film stands up against the source material.

On its own merits, Gone Girl, the movie, stands up pretty darn well. It's a twisting, turning affair, where almost nothing is quite what it seems, yet it never gets so convoluted it feels like it's lost its way. Dear reader(s), by now you know me well enough to know I can't possibly look at Ben Affleck without thinking (Batman! Batman! Batman!), but, even prior to his much-debated casting as the caped crusader, he seemed a very polarizing actor.

That makes Affleck (Batman! Batman! Batman!) an inspired choice for his role, as you're never quite sure how you're supposed to feel about Nick. Rosamund Pike continues to make good use of her patented wide-eyes-heaving-breasts act, but does a fine job of portraying all facets of one of the more...erm...*interesting* characters I've seen onscreen of late. The supporting cast is uniformly solid, with Carrie Coon turning in an especially good performance as Nick's ever-loyal twin sister.

Even Tyler Perry, whom I generally despise with the fire of a thousand suns, is pretty okay here. Another stunning score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross sets the mostly ominous tone. The movie is too long by at least 20 minutes, but it's easy enough to forgive in such a well-spun, surprisingly fun yarn.

Gone Girl clocks in at 149 minutes and is rated R for "a scene of bloody violence, some strong sexual content/nudity, and language."

Whether or not you were already a fan of the book, Gone Girl gives you every reason to get out to the theatre.

Of a possible nine Weasleys, Gone Girl gets eight.

Until next time..

 
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