Gonzo’s review published on Letterboxd:
NO SPOILERS
Marriage by David Fincher. Starring Ben Affleck, Rosamund Pike, Carrie Coon, Kim Dickens, Tyler Perry, Patrick Fugit, Casey Wilson, Missi Pyle, Sela Ward, Emily Ratajkowski, David Clennon, Scoot McNairy, and Neil Patrick Harris.
The Good: The superb characterizations. The tense, icky atmosphere. The menacing score. The devilishly dark humor. The crazy. The twists. The Ratajkowskis. The ending. (Oh, man, that ending.) And I think I'm in love with Carrie Coon. She's so good in this.
The Bad: The first half-hour or so feels a bit off. And the plot is—as Wallace Shawn famously says in The Princess Bride—inconceivable, so your enjoyment will largely depend on whether you can accept the film's sheer preposterousness and all the crazy shenanigans going on.
The Bottom Line: I don't know how well Gone Girl will hold up on repeat viewings, but as ridiculous as it gets—and, boy, it gets pretty fucking ridiculous—I was completely riveted all throughout. Not many directors can get away and look good with material like this, but Fincher pulls it off so well, you just end up buying it. And for those of you who've been clamoring for him to do True Detective, this is probably the closest we'll get. While Dickens and Fugit come nowhere near McConaughey and Harrelson, watching the Affleck-Pike mystery slowly unravel is a hundred times more intriguing than the Yellow King or Carcosa. What transpires is akin to a free fall down a rabbit hole... to hell. Those Dunnes, they one crazy, fucked-up couple. You know those stories grown-ups used to scare little kids? Well, this is David Fincher's version for the grown-ups. The moral of the story? Don't marry a writer. No, no, no, scratch that. Don't marry, period. Gone Girl comes recommended.
The Scorecard:
Direction: ★★★★
Acting: ★★★★
Writing: ★★★½
Editing: ★★★★
Visuals: ★★★★
Sound: ★★★★
Entertainment: ★★★★½
Overall Rating: ★★★★
