WARNING: there are spoilers in this review (if you haven’t already read the book, like.)
Well, we all know what this one’s about OK, but in case you’re one of the few people who missed the whole* Gone Girl* furor of last year. This is the film adaption of Gillian Flynn’s very excellent bestselling novel. It stars Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike as Nick and Amy Dunne, a married couple who end up at the centre of a media frenzy when Amy disappears and Nick becomes a suspect. Epic twists and drama follow as dark secrets are exposed.
**If you haven’t read the book, do you need to before you see the film? **The film is great on its own. It’s directed by David Fincher (Fight Club, The Social Network) and the screenplay was written by Flynn. But as is the case with any adaption, some of the detail has been cut, so we strongly advise you to give the book a go beforehand if you’ve got time.
Overview please? So for anyone who doesn’t know, it’s a plot of two halves. In part one, Amy disappears from the couple’s suburban home while her backdated diary provides us with her interpretation of her dwindling marriage to Nick. Then, in the second part, everything’s turned on its head, thanks to the most monstrous plot twist since the whole Bruce Willis being dead in Sixth Sense. The audience’s trust is lobbed about like a hot potato and by the end of the film you’ll almost definitely need at least an entire bottle of wine to calm yourself down.
So Amy’s played by our future wife Rosamund Pike... God, she’s great, isn’t she? She’s really convincing as mysterious, complex Amy. The film opens and ends with Pike staring into the camera while she does something fan-freaking-tastic with her eyes that we can’t really describe, but it’s as if one second you’re looking at a sweet, playful woman and then all of a sudden you’re staring directly into the soul of a cold-blooded psychopath.
**And what about the rest of the cast? **Neil Patrick Harris (How I Met Your Mother) plays Amy’s ex-boyfriend and suspected stalker Desi with a little more intensity than portrayed in the book, which works really well. In fact, we wouldn’t change anything about the casting of this film. Ben Affleck is great, and his resemblence to Scott Peterson, the murderer whose case inspired parts of the book in the first place is eerily uncanny.
And is the plot still basically the same? Despite all the rumours of big changes to the ending, for the most part the plot is pretty close to the original – and don’t let the fact that dreamy Affleck and Pike are starring make you assume the film has a soft touch. If anything, this version dials up the brutal parts from the book.
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So who do I take to see it? It’s definitely one for the girls, simply because although the main character is technically Nick, this is really all about Amy, and how different genders react in relationship. Also, as a side note, when we went to see it, we had the misfortune of sitting directly in front of a guy who provided a Gogglebox-type running commentary of his reactions throughout. FYI, he also shouted, ‘Women, egh!?’ at the end when the lights came up. Therefore, we’re taking this as solid proof that men are terrible cinema dates.
What are the real critics saying? ‘For all its simmering malice and buried secrets, it’s worth remembering that this is David Fincher in fun mode: unnerving, shocking and provoking for better and for worse, in sickness and in health, but mostly sickness.’ Robbie Colin, The Telegraph
What’re we saying? It’s stupidly, ridiculously exciting and whether you read into the themes of trust, marriage and bankruptcy or not, the twists and drama are more than enough to keep you interested. But more importantly, as big fans of the novel, we definitely weren’t disappointed.
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** Follow Helena on Twitter @HezzleHazzle**
This article originally appeared on The Debrief.