Gone Girl

Name: Gone Girl
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Released: October 3, 2014
Duration: 149 min
Rating: 79
Cast: Ben Affleck, Neil Patrick Harris, Rosamund Pike, Tyler Perry

2014

METASCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 49 Critic Reviews

See All

USER SCORE

Universal acclaim based on 1458 Ratings

See All

8.2

VOTE NOW

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

8.2	Your Score
8.2	User Score Universal acclaim based on 1458 Ratings

Would you like to write a review?

There is a 75 character minimum for reviews. If your review contains spoilers, please check the Spoiler box. Please do not use ALL CAPS. There is no linking or other HTML allowed. Your review may be edited for content. 0/5000

Check box if your review contains spoilers

Play Sound

Please enter your birth date to watch this video:

You are not allowed to view this material at this time.

Gone Girl

Now Playing: Gone Girl

Movie Details & Credits

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation | Release Date: October 3, 2014 | R

Starring: Ben Affleck, Neil Patrick Harris, Rosamund Pike, Tyler Perry

Summary: On the occasion of his fifth wedding anniversary, Nick Dunne (Ben Affleck) reports that his beautiful wife, Amy (Rosamund Pike), has gone missing. Under pressure from the police and a growing media frenzy, Nick's portrait of a blissful union begins to crumble. Soon his lies, deceits and strange behavior have everyone asking the same darkOn the occasion of his fifth wedding anniversary, Nick Dunne (Ben Affleck) reports that his beautiful wife, Amy (Rosamund Pike), has gone missing. Under pressure from the police and a growing media frenzy, Nick's portrait of a blissful union begins to crumble. Soon his lies, deceits and strange behavior have everyone asking the same dark question: Did Nick Dunne kill his wife?… Expand

Director: David Fincher

Genre(s): Drama, Mystery, Thriller

Rating: R

Runtime: 149 min

See All Details and Credits

More You Might Like

Zodiac

Fight Club

The Game

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Watch Now

Buy On

Metascore

Positive:

Mixed:

Negative:

Critic Reviews

100

Steve Persall

Oct 1, 2014

Gone Girl is a terrific movie, everything the book and its fans deserve. Read full review

100

Justin Chang

Sep 21, 2014

Surgically precise, grimly funny and entirely mesmerizing over the course of its swift 149-minute running time, this taut yet expansive psychological thriller represents an exceptional pairing of filmmaker and material. Read full review

Genevieve Koski

Oct 1, 2014

Gone Girl reveals itself as an optimal meeting of the minds, a perfect amalgam of a writer and a director with complementary fixations. Read full review

Todd McCarthy

Sep 21, 2014

A sharply made, perfectly cast and unfailingly absorbing melodrama. But, like the director's adaptation of another publishing phenomenon, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, three years ago, it leaves you with a quietly lingering feeling of: “Is that all there is?” Read full review

Dana Stevens

Oct 2, 2014

Like a film noir siren Gone Girl is beautiful, sexy, and fascinatingly mean — a nasty but estimable piece of work. Read full review

Bob Mondello

Oct 3, 2014

By the end of Gone Girl, the social issues that animate the film's beginning — job loss in an economic downturn, differences in wealth and class, media manipulation — have receded, and things have gotten so plot-driven and pulpy, there's nothing to challenge the director or make him stretch. In the film's final stages he seems to be relying entirely on craft — but, boy, is it effective craft. Read full review

Ed Gonzalez

Sep 27, 2014

There's a comic streak to the film that suggests David Fincher may understand the material as trash, but it's the kind of affectation that only reinforces, rather than dulls, its insults. Read full review

SEE ALL 49 REVIEWS

Write a Review

User Reviews

WiscoJoe

Oct 3, 2014

A masterpiece of genre film-making. I felt like I was watching a long-lost Hitchcock classic (but one with all the sex and violence Hitch was only allowed to hint at). No spoilers. The less you know about the story going in, the more you'll enjoy it. Fans of the novel are in for anA masterpiece of genre film-making. I felt like I was watching a long-lost Hitchcock classic (but one with all the sex and violence Hitch was only allowed to hint at). No spoilers. The less you know about the story going in, the more you'll enjoy it. Fans of the novel are in for an impeccable and precise adaptation of the source material. Fincher nails the tone and sustains it effortlessly for the entire running time.… Expand

40 of 66 users found this helpful4026

daeneryswift

Jun 15, 2016

I absolutely LOVED this movie! Amazing cast (Ben Affleck is the only one that didn't convince me like the others did - I usually prefer him as a director more than I do as an actor). Amy Dunne is my hero, for real! The story got me on the edge of my seat the whole time! Amazing, truly.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

Mattyice

Oct 13, 2014

If I could give Gone Girl an 8.5, I would. Gone Girl proved to be worth my money and time over my weekend. There are a lot of good things about the movie, but the main thing that kept me engaged throughout the entire film was the plot. The sinister plot and multiple twists actually got me toIf I could give Gone Girl an 8.5, I would. Gone Girl proved to be worth my money and time over my weekend. There are a lot of good things about the movie, but the main thing that kept me engaged throughout the entire film was the plot. The sinister plot and multiple twists actually got me to say "Oh s**t" at several moments during the film, but the plot did have a couple of holes, but none of them were detrimental to the film. I wanted the kidnapping/revenge mystery to keep going on. In addition, the characters were performed very well by all. No actor/actress played their role badly and the development of these characters makes you feel for them even more. Overall, this film is definitely worth seeing right now.… Expand

2 of 7 users found this helpful25

neocomp92

Oct 3, 2014

A delicious thriller filled with red herrings, best lies reinforced with cherry-picked truths, and an exploration into the mind of a sociopath as well as the inherent rules of a "normal" society that ends up being its own greatest obstacle in delivering justice to the victims.

Truly theA delicious thriller filled with red herrings, best lies reinforced with cherry-picked truths, and an exploration into the mind of a sociopath as well as the inherent rules of a "normal" society that ends up being its own greatest obstacle in delivering justice to the victims.

Truly the star of the show is Rosamund Pike, and its becoming a strange trend that Bond girls 10 years from their performance in 007 movies get to achieve greater things. Famke Jansen in Goldeneye 1995 played that insanely powerful witch-like figure in X-Men 3 (OK let's ignore how terrible that movie is to some). Rosamund here manages to exude the performance necessary for her character, and then some.

Ben Affleck, on the other hand, is less stellar, but probably because of how his character is written. Though a matter of personal preference, I always get thrown off by how similar he looks to Ryan Reynolds. He presents himself as a husband that doesn't seem to be as loving to his wife as some may think, and the movie brilliantly highlights these quirks, and explore why he is behaving in such a manner. Without going into too much spoiler, the reason for his behaviour is central to the plot of Pike's disappearance, but not in a straightforward manner as some might guess from the trailer.

And as mentioned, there is a sociopath in the movie, and its one that is beautifully written and acted. It truly shines on how this character manages to find the weakness in social expectations, behaviour, norms, and the justice system. The court of public opinion is a terrible thing once it goes against you, and this character knows it and exploits it, without remorse. I truly feel hatred for this villain, not because of the genius behind the crime, but because of the very rules of "normal" we as a collective society bind ourselves to that stops justice from being delivered, and this sociopath knows it.

There are some social issues on economic recession, job losses, and the "talk shows" that powerfully influence the public opinion. This is quite strong in the first and second act, but by the third, it does dial down due to how the plot is laid out.

What I don't like about the movie is some of the cinematography involved. Its clear from the opening credits that there are lots of fade in and out effects used in certain scenes, and quick transitions. Whilst it may work for some, there are certain scenes that lowered the intended impact and made me feel like I'm passing out.

This is also an 18+ movie; there are sex scenes here that are very open, though non-pornographic in nature. Just a reminder in case they didn't tell you so in the cinema.

Finally, its 2 hours and 50 minutes long. Its not that bad until the third act, where the direction of the movie could sometimes be a bit meandering, though not painfully dragging its feet. Though considering the emotional impact from how the second act concluded, you might not find what you truly are looking for by the closing of the movie.… Expand

1 of 11 users found this helpful110

Axgrinder

Oct 12, 2014

I didn’t love this movie, but I can’t dismiss it either. Ben Affleck stars as the husband, Nick, whose wife Amy (Rosamund Pike) has ‘disappeared’. The general public and most of the police think she is probably dead and that he has killed her. However, we (the audience) learn almostI didn’t love this movie, but I can’t dismiss it either. Ben Affleck stars as the husband, Nick, whose wife Amy (Rosamund Pike) has ‘disappeared’. The general public and most of the police think she is probably dead and that he has killed her. However, we (the audience) learn almost immediately that she has engineered her own disappearance. I’m not giving anything away by telling you that. The movie is about why she has left and resolving that situation.
Tension comes from the fact that we know Nick didn’t do it, but don’t really understand why he doesn’t seem to care all that much that his wife is missing. Nick’s public appeal for his wife’s return lacks any emotion or sincerity and everyone notices. Missy Pyle plays a TV commentator, who is a dead ringer for real life commentator Nancy Grace, and has a field day trying Nick’s case in the court of public opinion. Soon everyone hates Nick. One of his neighbors believes she has compelling evidence of Nick’s guilt and relentlessly tries to volunteer her information to the police. Unsatisfied with their uptake, she feels compelled to confront Nick with her ‘knowledge’ in a very public setting. Strangers emerge on the scene, like parasitic larva, seeking a vicarious thrill. Women show up to have their selfie taken with Nick. Hordes of people begin to patronize the quiet small town bar owned by Nick and Amy. Still, it’s hard to feel any sympathy for them. The more we learn about Nick and Amy the more there is to dislike about both of them.
Recently, there have been a lot of movies about dismal and depressing dystopian societies set in the relatively near future (such as Hunger Games, Divergent, and Her). What I found interesting about this movie is that it provides a window from which to view the dystopian elements of our present society as well as some of the more disturbing elements of our individual personas that could lead us down the path toward that sort of unpleasant future.
There are only three normal people in the whole movie: Nick’s twin sister Margo (Carrie Coon), police detective Rhonda Boney (Kim Dickens) and high-profile, celebrity defense attorney Tanner Bolt (Tyler Perry). The most depressing part of the movie comes when Margo and Boney ultimately recognize that they are completely impotent in affecting behaviors or outcomes. Bolt seems to have come to this same conclusion sometime in the past, but sees it all a game. The most memorable line in the movie is given by Bolt when, with a chuckle, he tells Nick that, “You two are the most f**ked up people I’ve ever met.”
Around the two hour mark, the movie has a “Carrie” moment, where Amy returns home drenched in blood. It was shortly at this point where I thought Gillian Flynn’s story started losing all believability (and I started losing interest) as Nick’s character undergoes a total transformation (from complete jerk to total wimp) and the public gets fooled by Amy for a second time.
My final conclusion: At 2½ hours, this movie is just too darn long.… Expand

3 of 5 users found this helpful32

Movi3R3vi3wer

Nov 27, 2014

One of the most overrated movies of the year, but Gone Girl is a good movie filled with memorable acting performances especially from Affleck, Pike and Perry.

3 of 8 users found this helpful35

TheOracleSpeaks

Jan 16, 2015

I have no idea how this movie could have gotten good reviews. It is long, boring, meandering, and in the end, utterly implausible.

As an example of the implausibility, Ben Affleck's character ends up acting in ways that NO human could ever conceivably act in. What is his motivation forI have no idea how this movie could have gotten good reviews. It is long, boring, meandering, and in the end, utterly implausible.

As an example of the implausibility, Ben Affleck's character ends up acting in ways that NO human could ever conceivably act in. What is his motivation for simply moving back in with a woman who has just tried to frame him for murder and set him up for state execution, and who has just murdered a man in cold blood? Or for agreeing to stay with her after she sneakily conceives his child? There is no explanation given in the movie, and none even conceivable. We spend over two hours hearing about how Ben Affleck can't stand this psycho, and there is NO indication that his feelings change - but we're supposed to believe he just takes her back after all that? It's utterly unbelievable.… Expand

2 of 12 users found this helpful210

SEE ALL 257 REVIEWS

63	#63 Best Movie of 2014
13	#13 Most Discussed Movie of 2014
19	#19 Most Shared Movie of 2014