A tantalizing dark comedy disguised as murder mystery that evaluates and dissects the actions of mostly deplorable characters, Gone Girl is an aesthetically slick, superbly structured, and outright fantastic film. Not only a fascinating mirco-level look at the origins and dissolution of a marriage but a commentary on the cultural consumption of human misbehavior.

The pacing is near perfect; the run-time of over 2 ½ hours is barely noticeable. With each beat presenting itself before any type of lull, Flynn’s screenplay allows for Fincher to stylistically work his sterile and unobtrusive magic while evoking powerful and haunting performances from his two leads, Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike, who both navigate a wide spectrum of emotions. Ben Affleck as Nick Dunne is able to portray varying degrees of likability and sympathy while at the same time being completely loathsome. Rosamund Pike is perfectly cast as Amy Dunne and delves into every erratic plane of emotion. What makes these two entirely unreliable protagonists so unique are how utterly horrible they can be. It feels icky to root for anyone yet so completely satisfying to see how much they deserve each other in the end.

Can we talk about the “cool girl” makeover monologue? The editing in that sequence is so precise and the way the voiceover is weaved in with the methodic transition from Amazing Amy to Jane Doe is so completely impactful. A gruesome scene where Amy kills Desi stands out and is shocking and perfectly executed (pun intended). The tone of the film remains in a place of drama with wit. I was surprised by how much it made me laugh, which I probably shouldn’t be because if I remember correctly, I laughed out loud quite a few times while reading the book.

Loved this film and need to see it again because I think there are so many levels to the characters that may not be noticeable on initial watching, thanks to the performances and direction.

*Shout out to Kim Dickens who killed it!