Let me just start off by saying that I loved the initial trailer for this movie. Something about the sadness of it was moving to me, and I was excited to see the film based on the trailer alone, although the fact that it was directed by David Fincher (Se7en, Fight Club, Zodiac) didn’t hurt. I liked the trailer so much I added it to my favorites playlist on YouTube, and have watched it multiple times. To my great surprise the movie glimpsed in the trailer is not what you get when you see the final film, the difference is night and day. While I was a little disappointed that the movie wasn’t that first trailer stretched out to feature length, I was happy to be surprised. I only watched the first trailer for Gone Girl, I don’t know if the other trailers revealed more of the story, but if they didn’t then that is a great thing. Too many trailers hand the entire plot to the viewer, making seeing the actual film somewhat pointless. I’m happy this movie wasn’t spoiled for me.
Rosamund Pike plays Amy, and her character is the heart of the movie. I’ve seen Pike in a few other films, while she is quite beautiful I never remember being particularly impressed by her acting, but she does great as Amy, showing off an intelligence and intensity that is frightening. I am a big fan of Ben Affleck’s career as a director, but not so much his skills as an actor, but I have to say here he does pretty good work. The relationship between him and his wife is crucial to the film’s success, and the chemistry achieved by the two actors is sufficient to hook the audience. There are some other quality performances in this, but due must be given to Tyler Perry as his scene stealing, Johnnie Cochran like lawyer. I’m not a fan of Perry’s movies, but he is great as this character.
I’ve been a casual supporter of David Fincher for years, but that may have to change. With the possible exceptions of Panic Room and Alien 3, all of Fincher’s films have been worth seeing, and he is continuously proving his chops with every subsequent release. I didn’t enjoy Gone Girl as much as some of his other movies, but that is no insult to be sure. Zodiac is probably my favorite thing he’s ever done, but I’ll take Gone Girl over most other studio releases any day.
While I was sold on the film’s gloomy trailer, the tone of the piece is all over the place, this movie is many things, frequently thrilling, funny and shocking. I want to say more about the plot but I think doing so would be a disservice to the reader, so instead I will tell you that you should see this movie and discover it’s surprises for yourself.
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