Gone Girl

 David Fincher is regarded as one of the finest directors since the mid-90's. After his debut disaster that was “Alien 3,” he's delivered some of the finest works that have come out of Hollywood: “Zodiac,” “Fight Club,” “The Game,” “Seven,” and “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo” are all examples of his capabilities. Hell, within the past couple of years, I've started to appreciate “The Social Network” a bit more. Fincher is an excellent director, as he and Tarantino have both proved to make actors that I dislike into giving out great performances. Which brings us to his newest film, starring Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike, “Gone Girl.”

Based on the novel by Gillian Flynn, “Gone Girl” tells of Nick Dunne, a college professor whose wife, Amy, goes missing. After witnessing a bizarre crime scene, he tries to search for her, with the town thinking that maybe he killed her, leaving us to something we don't know about Nick.

The film is a mystery thriller, and it never lets up on that. The marketing team that advertised this film did a fantastic job of how set the tone for what this movie would be. One minute you think it'll go this direction, only to pull you into another direction you didn't think about. Kudos to the people who made these trailers, because I really liked the surprises that happened in this film. Gillian Flynn admitted that the film would differ from the book, which would piss people off, if not for the fact that Flynn wrote the screenplay herself. While the film does go on longer than it felt like it should, it still manages to keep you interested in what's going on, and the people who rushed to the bathroom after the film would agree as well.

Ben Affleck delivers the performance of his career. You might think that the guy was playing just a smug douche, but as it goes on it all comes together. Nick Dunne is not as good a person as you would expect, and there are things that would make you hate this guy. It's almost as if Affleck is playing a parody of himself from 10 years ago, and he does it great. Affleck still remains one of the most talented people in Hollywood, and it really bugs me that people are giving this guy shit, even after he gave us three great films as a director. People, he was one of the three people to help give Robin Williams an Oscar, SHOW SOME RESPECT! Plus, he, Henry Cavill, and Chris Terrio's script are the only things that I'm looking forward to in “The World's Finest” (I know, it's called “Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice,” but that's a stupid fucking title). Rosamund Pike as Amy Elliot Dunne steals the show, however, because of the secrets that we learn throughout the film. No spoilers on this one, because I want you to see the movie. After this film, I guaranteeing the Academy will nominate these two for Best Actor and Actress, and that's totally fine with me.

The supporting cast also manages to do excellent as well, but there are two actors that managed to surprise me greatly. One was Neil Patrick Harris, who plays an supposed stalker of Rosamund Pike, but does it in a way you wouldn't expect of him. His character goes into different patterns you think about, which does come to a point when you fully watch the film. The other was Tyler Perry, who not only manages to give off the best performance of his career, but one of the best performances of the year, and that's saying a lot. I never really liked most of Perry's films. This really shows that he can act, so much that I wouldn't actually mind if he was nominated for Best Supporting Actor. Granted, I would much prefer NPH, our next Oscar host, to get nominated, but if both do, I'm okay with that.

Overall, “Gone Girl” is a big contender into Oscar season people. The script is investing and has good twists, the acting is solid, and the direction is flawless. David Fincher has delivered another fantastic film, and I hope it gets at least nominated for the Big Five.

Rating: 10/10