Leslie in Little Rock

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Gone Girl – Movie Review (2014) & Book Review (2012)

Leslie's Movie & TV Reviews

Movie Description:  With his wife’s disappearance having become the focus of an intense media circus, a man sees the spotlight turned on him when it’s suspected that he may not be innocent.

Release Date:  Friday, October 3, 2014

Running Time:  149 minutes

Genre:  Drama/Mystery/Thriller 

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA): Rated R for a scene of bloody violence, some strong Sexual Content & Nudity, Profanity and images of Alcohol/Drugs/Smoking.

Director:  David Fincher

Writer:  Gillian Flynn (Screenplay and Novel)

 

CAST

Ben Affleck
as Nick Dunne

Rosamund Pike
as Amy Dunne
Carrie Coon
as Margo Dunne (Nick’s twin sister)
Neil Patrick Harris
as Desi Collings
(Left to Right)
David Clennon as Rand Elliot (Amy’s Father)
Lisa Banes as Marybeth Elliott (Amy’s Mother)
Kim Dickens as Police Detective Rhonda Boney

Tyler Perry
as Lawyer Tanner Bolt




Photos from IMDb



Leslie’s Comments On The Movie “Gone Girl”


  • I saw Gone Girl at a special 10:00 pm showing on Thursday, October 2, the day before the movie opened nationwide. I finished reading the book the day before I saw the movie and couldn’t wait to see how the movie compared to the book. 

    The movie is very suspenseful, intense and keeps the viewer guessing until the very end of the film. Even though the movie is almost 2 1/2 hours long, it goes by very quickly because there are so many plot twists and turns. Everything about this film is amazing, including the Lighting and Cinematography, the Costumes and Hair/Makeup on each character, and the great acting of a wonderful, talented cast.

    Similar to George Clooney’s Academy Award winning role in The Descendants, Ben Affleck is a handsome movie star who is believable as a small town Missouri guy who moves back to his hometown after losing his Magazine Writer job in New York City. Rosamund Pike gives an unforgettable performance as Nick’s wife Amy, a native New Yorker with writer parents, a boarding school background and no friends as she is relocated to Missouri. Other standouts in this movie include Tyler Perry as a slick Defense Attorney, Neil Patrick Harris as a former classmate of Amy’s, Carrie Coon as Nick’s twin sister Margo, and Kim Dickens as Police Detective Rhonda Boney.


    Gone Girl was rated the Number One Movie during its opening week, bringing in $37.5M. With its top notch acting, excellent production value, and constant story surprises, I’m sure it will remain number one for a very long time.



 

Leslie’s Comments On The Novel “Gone Girl”
Written by Gillian Flynn

  • The novel Gone Girl was first released in June 2012, less than one month after my husband suddenly passed away from an undiagnosed Pulmonary Embolism. I don’t really remember much during those trying times, other than watching a lot of TV, including marathon episodes of my favorite show, Glee. I do remember seeing an early morning network television news program that featured a segment on good “Beach Reads” and included the book Gone Girl, written by Gilliam Flynn, as one of the best books of the summer. 

    Later on, I saw a picture of Glee actress Lea Michele posted online where she was reading the book Gone Girl while sitting outside in a public park. There was speculation on Twitter at the time that she was being considered for a part in the movie adaption of the best selling novel.  So I immediately purchased the book on iTunes for my iPad, read the first couple of chapters, became really busy and didn’t finish reading the story.

    Months later, my daughter Sara and I saw a commercial for the movie Gone Girl, which was scheduled to be released on October 3. I started reading the online book again and finished it on October 2!

    Without giving much away, the book, like the movie (which pretty much stays the same) is very well written and pretty hard to put down once the reader gets invested in the story of Nick Dunne and his missing wife, Amy.  The book is written in both a series of flashbacks and present tense from both main characters and the chapters are labeled that way, so at first it was a little confusing to keep it straight!  But once I read past the first few chapters, it was easier to understand.  I wondered how this format was going to transfer to a film but it is done seamlessly in the movie.

    Although I read many books as a child and teen and I work as a writer, I haven’t read as much as an adult as I would like too. I love all the legal thriller books written by John Grisham and thought that the movie The Lovely Bones was as good as the book, written by Alice Sebold.

    As far as Gone Girl goes, if you want to read the book and then see the movie, or see the movie and then read the book, either one is fine because both the book and the movie are astonishing.

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Comments

  1. Thomas Watson says

    Well said. I must say, I didn't know much about this movie (as I've purposely avoided spoilers) other than its brief synopsis and I've only seen the trailers and TV spots, so not to be spoiled by its plot and interesting twists and turns, and its interesting ending.

    Reply

    • Leslie in Little Rock says

      Thank You for your comment! I really appreciate it. I wanted to write a review of both the movie and book without giving away any of the plot twists. I want to go back and see the movie again just to see how great the production is, including all the night time shoots and watch the amazing acting. I think the movie is great and hope that it is nominated for some upcoming awards.

      Reply

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