Movie Review: ‘Gone Girl’ [Video]

Ben Affleck plays the kind of smarmy jerk you think he might be in real life and cable news is laid out as the phony crap it is, and that's not even the best stuff about the new movie, "Gone Girl".

A dark comedy that speaks to our rush to judgment on things we know little about, "Gone Girl" works on many levels.

The plot is simple enough, when Nick Dunne returns home on the day of his fifth anniversary to find his wife missing, the wheels start turning almost immediately in everyone's head as to why this beautiful young woman is missing from a small community in America's heartland. Sound familiar? It should. This drama plays out on cable news shows like "Nancy Grace" almost daily in America, and after seeing "Gone Girl", you'll never watch those shows the same way again.

From their quickness to put the blame on Dunne, to their phony "caring" posture, the TV news and the police are shown as culprits in a game that results in Dunne's being put in a defensive posture since day one of the alleged crime. The twists and turns that take place after that are an entertaining ride, one that consumes the almost two and half hour run time at a fast pace, led by David Fincher's tight direction and the beauty of Trent Reznor's odd soundtrack, which is so good, it's almost another character.

Affleck is perfect in the role of a slacker writer who spends most of the time in a bar he runs with his sister. Ben as Nick comes across as just enough of a dick to make you doubt anything he says, and that's important in rolling out the plot lines, that get weird and twisted fairly quickly. Rosamond Pike plays Ben's missing wife, Amy, an aloof enough character in her own right. In early flashback scenes, Pike gives you just enough charm to make you want to like Amy, but who also shows you just enough of the New York snob in her to leave room in your mind for doubt, and that's important in the dark journey this film takes you on.

So if the two main characters are flawed, who is there to like in this film?

Carrie Coon, as Nick's sister, Margo (or as he calls her "Go") and Kim Dickens as the lead investigator,Ronda Boney, ground the film with down home earnestness and are the audience's foils for being incredulous when the film's expositions play themselves out one bizarre step at a time.

Tyler Perry is also good as the Johnny Cochran like defense attorney who loves the spotlight, and Patrick Fugit is delightful as Dickens cop sidekick, Jim, who wants to fry Nick as soon as he possibly can.

"Gone Girl" was adapted from the popular Gillian Flynn novel by Gillian herself, which keeps the film pretty grounded in the plot of the book, well almost.

"Gone Girl" is a dark look at how we all like to think we know is going on in the news we see, when we really have no clue. It speaks to the dark side in all of us, and I think that's what makes it such a good movie. I highly recommend it.