Jeff's Reviews

Thoughts on every movie I've ever seen.

Gone Girl (2014)

Directed by David Fincher

Starring Ben Affleck, Rosamund Pike, Neil Patrick Harris, Tyler Perry

Author

A good mindfuck whodunnit, feels a bit like a Hitchcock classic, if not a little long and drawn out. I know it was adapted from a book, but I feel like it could have been an hour shorter.

But the film is as manipulative as its characters. It pulls a fast one on us over and over again by hiding all the facts, only dispensing them in convenient flashbacks as the story is told. The most unsettling thing is that, after all this twisting and turning, there’s no comfortable resolution at the end.

Affleck’s pretty good. Pike’s cute but a little breathy and weird, but I guess it all comes together as we learn more about her character. Her old school femme fatale is reminiscent of Sharon Stone in Basic Instinct, but this one’s a little more psychotic. Dickens was great as the investigator, reminded me of Cherry Jones’ performance in Signs.

Well-made, Fincher’s direction is polished. Reznor and Ross make any score instantly cool. Dialogue feels a touch scripted, though. Most scenes are conversations where characters try to out-cool each other, much like you see on TV.

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