GONE GIRL - Movie Review

 Title: Gone Girl
Running Time: 149 min
Director: David Fincher
Starring: Ben Affleck, Rosamund Pike, Carrie Coon, Tyler Perry, Neil Patrick Harris, Kim Dickens

Review:
David Fincher is one of the greatest directors of our time. Gaining popularity with dark thrillers like "Se7en" and the cult hit "Fight Club", he later even managed to enthrall us with Dramas such as "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" and "The Social Network", both of which, though lighter in tone, had the same emotional impact as their predecessors. Most recently, he also headed for the small screen producing and at times directing the incredible political series "House Of Cards". So is it save to say that he won't disappoint this time either? Hell yeah!
"Gone Girl" is a fantastic movie! Despite its two-and-a-half hour running time, it constantly keeps you on the edge of your seat, giving you enough twists and turns to have you wanting to know what happens next at any moment. Fincher achieves this with an excellent atmosphere and has you being empathetic, skeptical, curious, but most of them all: extremely creeped out! Yet, the film has much more going on for it than the mystery of a missing women. Critically examining topics like the influence of the media as well as the concept of marriage, it touches you on many different levels.
Another strike of genius is the cast. Everyone involved in this movie is giving an exceeding performance. Ben Affleck is the perfect choice for Nick Dunne, most likely channeling his own bad experiences with the public for his portrayal. Quite often, he shares the screen with Carrie Coon, who delivers such fine acting that you wonder why we haven't seen much of her until now. Also surprisingly convincing in their against-type roles are Neil Patrick Harris and even more so Tyler Perry, who delivers the few natural laughs of this film. The most captivating performance however, was given by Rosamund Pike, who has never been better. Through the many flashbacks in the movie, we learn  more and more about the relationship of our two protagonist, and with every bit we get more unsure of what is really going on.
The only "problem" with this movie is that the climax comes a tiny bit too early and eventhough the tension doesn't drop to zero (it acually never does in this film), ending the film a few scenes earlier wouldn't have hurt its overall feeling.
Still, "Gone Girl" is a brilliant multi-layered thriller that manages to put a packed movie theater under its spell. It catches you off guard and is definitely one of the greatest movies this year. A must-see! 

For Fans Of:
Zodiac (2007)
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2009/2011)
Black Swan (2010)
We Need To Talk about Kevin (2011)

Click Here To Watch Trailer!

And check out my friend's review over at B.A.'s Screentest for a second opinion!