Page to Screen

Amy Dunne disappears on her and her husband Nick’s fifth anniversary. Nick is the prime suspect in the case. Gone Girl is both a portrait of a marriage and a study on how the media horns in on high profile crimes.

Gone Girl may the best adaptation of a book I’ve ever watched. Perhaps because Gillian Flynn herself adapted it. I’ve seen it twice already! Of course the movie had to be condensed from the book, otherwise it would have been five hours long. Flynn has done this masterfully. The timeline of events had to be tweaked just a little and some minor plot points left out but the meat of the book is definitely there.

Ben Affleck’s Nick was great. The only thing he could have done better was looked a little more slovenly. I’m  from Kansas City and loved that he wore a Boulevard Beer T-shirt for one scene – my home town brewery! Tyler Perry wasn’t as tacky as his character in the book but it worked. It would have taken away from the dark atmosphere of the movie if he was wearing loud suits.  And wow, he impressed me as a dramatic actor. No trace of Madea in sight.

The real star of this movie is Rosemund Pike. Her portrayal of Amy is spot on. Truly fantastic. I can’t say anything more about her without spoiling the movie but I will say that you will not be disappointed.

My husband hasn’t read the book but he still thought the movie was great. He said he judges if whether or not a movie is good if he is thinking about it days later and this movie haunted him for a while. We’ve discussed the movie with each other  several times.

Whether you’ve read the book or not, you must run, not walk to the theater and see this movie immediately.

My review of the book Gone Girl which includes an account of a book signing of Gillian Flynn’s that I attended.