THRILL SCALE 1-10
6
HAVE I SEEN IT BEFORE?
Yes, once, in the theatre
BEST SEQUENCE
The midway point of the movie when we learn what happened on the day of Amy's disappearance
BEST LINE
"When I think of my wife, I always think of her head. I picture cracking her lovely skull, unspooling her brains, trying to get answers. The primal questions of any marriage: What are you thinking? How are you feeling? What have we done to each other?"
- First line of the movie, voiceover by Nick (Ben Affleck)
ROTTEN TOMATOES SCORE
88%
ROTTEN TOMATOES CRITICS CONSENSUS
"Dark, intelligent, and stylish to a fault, Gone Girl plays to director David Fincher's sick strengths while bringing the best out of stars Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike."
IMDB SYNOPSIS
"With his wife's disappearance having become the focus of an intense media circus, a man sees the spotlight turned on him when it's suspected that he may not be innocent."
DIRECTOR
David Fincher
MAIN CAST
Rosamund Pike, Ben Affleck, Carrie Coon, Neil Patrick Harris, Tyler Perry, Kim Dickens
THOUGHTS
- As has happened a few times before, 6 might seem like a low score but even if Gone Girl isn't as thrilling as some of the other movies we've talked about, it's still an undeniably excellent, entertaining movie and I liked the experience of watching it quite a lot more than the 6 might imply
- As has also happened before, a lot of the thrill value comes from the way the movie's plot twists and turns and it's entirely possible I'd be giving this a higher score if I hadn't seen it already, just based on shock value. Which is also a good time to give a spoiler warning for what follows, and if you haven't seen Gone Girl, stop reading and watch it
- David Fincher is certainly well-represented on the Readers' Choice list - we've already talked about The Game, and eventually we'll talk about Se7en, and I believe this gives him the most movies on the Readers' Choice list (but there are a number of directors with two films each)
- On the other hand I do believe this is the first and only appearance of Ben Affleck (also of Rosamund Pike, but Affleck has been in more movies which might be included on a "thrilling movie" list). Affleck and Pike are both really excellent in this, showing just enough to the audience so that we know there's more going on than they're letting on, but they're also still cagey enough that we're treated to some genuine, shocking surprises
- As mentioned above, my pick for the best sequence is when we learn what actually happened on the day that Amy disappeared, and we see exactly how much planning and plotting went into the events of that day, all perfectly explained by Pike's voiceover
- Just as intriguing is when Amy's plan starts to unravel and we see her need to pivot and think on her feet, but still with the same cunning, calculated methodology. I also liked this section of the movie for the parallel stories, almost a cat-and-mouse between Nick and Amy
- And this part of the movie culminates in the actual most thrilling scene, at least for me - the death of Neil Patrick Harris's Desi. Shocking and brutal, but also pretty satisfying because he was a terrible person in his own way
- Along with Harris, the rest of the supporting cast is also great. I especially liked Carrie Coon in her film debut as Nick's sister, and Kim Dickens as the lead investigator on the case
- Finally, a bit of a tangent. I first saw Gone Girl in the theatre in 2014 and it shall forever remain in my memory as the absolute worst I've ever had to pee during a movie, and I hope it never has a contender. I was feeling it for probably the last 3/4 of the movie, starting with mild discomfort and turning into outright agony towards the end. AND YET, I just couldn't allow myself to leave the theatre and potentially miss something huge so I just gritted my teeth and sat there, bladder close to bursting. Ever since then I've made it a habit to use the washroom before the movie starts, which anyone could tell you is a good idea anyway, but I do give Gone Girl bonus points for grabbing my attention to such an extent that I don't think I'll ever forget it (although on this rewatch I did make use of the pause button with 20 minutes left to go)
Up next: The last Readers' Choice movie of this group, and it's a big one. Robocop, from 1987
