GONE GIRL DVD (2014)

SYNOPSIS: GONE GIRL – directed by David Fincher and based upon the global bestseller by Gillian Flynn – unearths the secrets at the heart of a modern marriage. On the occasion of his fifth wedding anniversary, Nick Dunne (Ben Affleck) reports that his beautiful wife, Amy (Rosamund Pike), has gone missing. Under pressure from the police and a growing media frenzy, Nick’s portrait of a blissful union begins to crumble. Soon his lies, deceits and strange behavior have everyone asking the same dark question: Did Nick Dunne kill his wife?

MOVIE REVIEW:

I try my best to keep this review spoilers-free but no promise. Gone Girl based on the novel by Gillian Flynn is so full of twists and turns and cleverly told by Fincher that the completed movie already deserves an award of its own.

Marriage can be both blissful and deadly. Those married should know this statement by heart. Nick Dunne (Ben Affleck), a tall handsome man who runs the local pub with his twin sister is being suspected of murdering his missing wife, Amy (Rosamund Pike) on the day of their fifth wedding anniversary. Their house suspiciously look ransacked but there’s no concrete proof uncovered by two detectives, Rhonda (Kim Dickens) and James (Patrick Fugit) that proved Amy has been kidnapped.

On the other hand, Nick is highly suspected to be the culprit responsible for the crime. He looks disinterested most of the time, unwittingly flirt with other women and he doesn’t even know Amy’s circle of friends or what she does in the day. Just when you start to fidget in your seat thinking you have it all figured out, Fincher and Flynn has already begun prepping to throw you off your seat. 

Gone Girl is a crazy mix of suspense and thrill and plays as a wicked satire of a perfect marriage. As the audience delves deeper into the union of Nick and Amy, we discover two largely different sides of the story and they are never pretty. Is Nick a perfect husband? We probably know he isn’t but just how bastard of a guy he is. What about Amy? Is she a frail, vulnerable lady waiting for her prince to rescue her from Nick?

Consider it’s mostly Pike doing voiceover for the first half, the whodunit immediately picked up with the appearance of Pike as Amy. Her character apparently overturned whatever clichés the genre offered. Together with the surprising revelations that follows, I can only divulge it will definitely change your opinion of Neil Patrick Harris and also what a manipulative marriage looks like.

Former Bond girl Rosamund Pike is astounding as Amy. She is no longer a forgettable pretty face after you seen her in this dark thriller. Affleck is near perfect as Nick Dunne though his performance in Argo is far natural and less tense. Tyler Perry appears as Nick’s attorney, Tanner Bolt, a role that defines Perry as a serious actor instead of his frequent comedic cross-dressing roles in his self-directed movies. TV actress Carrie Coon puts in a sassy performance as Nick’s tomboyish twin sister and of course the last commending effort goes to Neil Patrick Harris as Desi, Amy’s super rich ex-boyfriend.

Sharply helmed by David Fincher, beautifully shot by Jeff Cronenweth and also an ominous score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross,Gone Girl is such an impressive cinematic work for adults that every movie lover should own this title at home. If you love Seven or Zodiac, this one shouldn’t disappoint.   

SPECIAL FEATURES:

Director David Fincher provides a surprisingly light and entertaining commentary track in the DVD’s sole extra feature. 

AUDIO/VISUAL:

Grading the visual aspect of a David Fincher movie can be tricky. It’s hard to tell if the images are heavily manipulated during post-production but still the digitally shot thriller looks fantastic on DVD even for most of the dim, dark scenes. Though Gone Girl is not a bombastic sounding movie, the sound engineers make a fine balance between the score and dialogue. 

MOVIE RATING:

DVD RATING :

Review by Linus Tee