Ben Affleck & Rosamund Pike Are A Couple On The Rocks In 'Gone Girl'

October 3, 2014

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Shannon O’Connor ’16 / Emertainment Monthly Editor-in-Chief

Ben Affleck in Gone Girl. Photo Credit: Merrick Morton/Twentieth Century Fox. — Ben Affleck in *Gone Girl*. Photo Credit: Merrick Morton/Twentieth Century Fox.

Marriage never looked grimmer than it does in Gone Girl.
Adapted from Gillian Flynn’s best-selling thriller, Gone Girl follows Nick Dunne (Ben Affleck) who in the wake of his wife, Amy Dunne’s (Rosamund Pike), disappearance becomes the prime suspect in her kidnapping and presumed murder.
Opening on the day of her disappearance, the film relies on well-placed flashbacks to show the progression of the Dunne’s marriage from blissful to toxic. The flashbacks mixed with Pike’s haunting voice-over and director David Fincher’s (Fight Club, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo) signature dark and gloomy tone, immediately put viewers on the edge of their seats. Despite the grim tone, Gone Girl has a wealth of humor composed mostly of dark comedy and dramatic irony that nevertheless has audiences laughing out loud.

Ben Affleck, Patrick Fugit, David Clennon, Lisa Banes and Kim Dickens in Gone Girl. Photo Credit: Merrick Morton/Twentieth Century Fox. — Ben Affleck, Patrick Fugit, David Clennon, Lisa Banes and Kim Dickens in *Gone Girl*. Photo Credit: Merrick Morton/Twentieth Century Fox.

One of the greatest elements of the film is its cast. From well-known names like Ben Affleck and Neil Patrick Harris to lesser-known names like Rosamund Pike and Carrie Coon, every actor corresponds perfectly with their character and gives a spectacular performance.
Affleck perfectly embodies Nick Dunne. He gives a spot-on portrayal of Nick’s unwitting, emotionless nature, while also providing his character with an abundance of humor and intelligence as the plot around Amy’s disappearance thickens.

Rosamund Pike and Ben Affleck in Gone Girl. Photo Credit: Merrick Morton/Twentieth Century Fox. — Rosamund Pike and Ben Affleck in *Gone Girl*. Photo Credit: Merrick Morton/Twentieth Century Fox.

Pike absolutely stuns as Amy Dunne. She is everything that anyone who read and loved the novel could ever dream of and more for the role. Sliding between virtuous and unhinged flawlessly, Pike is the epitome of Amy Dunne. Remember her name as you will be hearing a lot of it during the upcoming award season.
With Gone Girl, Fincher has created a masterpiece. Equally parts gripping and engaging, the film grasps the viewer’s attention from the very first frame and never lets go. Fincher not only stays true to Flynn’s original text, but manages to improve upon it with his fast-paced, suspenseful style. Hours after the film has finished, audiences’ will still not be able to get it out of their mind.
Overall Grade: A+