Gone Girl a nice surprise

Paul Peterson

Ok, I have to admit that Ben Affleck has turned into a good actor with a strong career which surprises the heck out of me. It could have gone otherwise. Most people wouldn’t recover from Gigli. Mike Myers is/was a mega star who never recovered from The Love Guru.
I think it’s a testimonial to hard work and being smart. Learning the business. Paying attention. All of that.

In Gone Girl he plays Nick Dunne, a mostly likeable guy in a declining orbit. He had the perfect life/perfect wife until she disappeared.
It’s always tough to review a thriller without a world of spoiler alerts.
So here’s the generic overview spoiler alert: Things aren’t as they seem.

His beautiful loving trophy wife Amy (played by relative newcomer Rosamund Pike) may not be so loving.  Or …
She disappears and there’s a huge response from the public who help search for the poor dear.

It is an interesting look and indictment of media and public sentiment as the crowd turns against Nick.
He is smug and smarmy and really who’s life could stand up to any kind of media scrutiny.
So there’s our story, or rather, the catharthis.

As he comes to terms with his new reality and the fact that he’s a suspect in his wife’s disappearance we see a different man emerge. Affleck is strong thru the changes his character undergoes including the rather bizarre turn of event ending.

But I digress
Neal Patrick Harris is always interesting as the ex of the dear departed or missing and pike is convincing in whatever her role is…..think crazy with a capital K
It’s a bit long.
This baby could have come in under two hours but,  whatever.
Gone Girl delivers a good watch with a few surprises that are worth waiting for, based on the strength of the writing and acting.
Adult thrillers rarely are, but Gone Girl is a nice surprise. Based on a hugely popular book, I really enjoyed this film.

As always, other opinions are welcome, but wrong. That’s it for this week. The cheque’s in the mail and I’m outta here.
Paul