Rosamund Pike is the victim and Ben Affleck the suspect in this tense drama of lies, broken relationships, and sexual power.

Although this was a very good book, and the author herself has developed it into a screenplay, I didn't find Affleck at all convincing as he follows the elaborate twists and turns set up by his wife to place him in the frame for her murder.

This film plucks up the edges of a stale marriage and, eventually, sweeps all the bad things underneath, so we have the appearance of a happy ending.

There's a particularly gruesome murder with a lot of bloodletting, and a lot of psychological manipulation, with a very good performance from Neil Patrick Harris, but with Affleck as the weak link this could have been so much better recast.

Pike, though, is perfect as the calculating Amy, and I can't imagine the original choice of Reese Witherspoon. When Amy states "I love people picking at my scabs", you realise that's exactly what this film is, the peeling back of skin to get to the reality beneath.