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Film Review: 'Gone Girl'

Tanya Mardirossian |
October 4, 2014 | 9:47 a.m. PDT

Staff Reporter

Pike and Affleck (@GoneGirlMovie/Twitter)
Pike and Affleck (@GoneGirlMovie/Twitter)
The popular book has now come alive in the movie “Gone Girl.” 

The movie is about three hours long, but there is never a dull moment in the thriller. Because of its lengthy time, no question is left unanswered by the film. That being said, this is not a film adaptation gone wrong by Hollywood. The audience leaves satisfied with what they saw in those long, entertaining hours. 

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The film has some suspense along with comedy, and the book’s author, Gillian Flynn, was a part of the team as the screenwriter. 

Ben Affleck plays Nick Dunne, a man who is searching for his missing wife, Amy (Rosamund Pike).  We learn that their marriage wasn’t remotely close to perfect. In fact, it’s a marriage that has led to possible murder. As Nick’s sleazy aspects of his life are revealed, it is hard to think he isn’t the cause of Amy’s disappearance on their fifth anniversary. Her diary is found, and paints Nick as a loving husband from the start, to a monster in her last entry. 

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The film is a trio of a wrecked love story with a twist, a possible murder case and a satirical take on how this is all portrayed on the news. 

No questions are left unanswered because we hear both sides to the story—both Nick and Amy’s story, which makes the mystery unfold beautifully. 

Performances by Carrie Coon, who plays Nick’s sister Margo, and Tyler Perry (Nick’s lawyer) add comedic relief as they are both sarcastic, smart a**es that serve as Nick’s conscience. 

The audience is in on all the clues Nick is trying to decipher, like we were in films like “Shutter Island.”

Flynn told The Daily Beast that one of her influences is Dennis Lehane. So, if you have read books later adapted to film like “Shutter Island,” “Gone Baby Gone” and/or “Mystic River,” and liked them, you’re in for a treat when you see “Gone Girl.” 

Reach Staff Member Tanya Mardirossian here. Follow her on Twitter



 

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