David Fincher’s ‘Gone Girl’ is the quintessential modern day thriller, intended to shock and it does. The viewer is kept in a state of suspense, at times anticipating what’s coming next, at other times completely caught off guard. This graphically explicit tale of entrapment leaves a lot of questions to contemplate even after the credits roll. Fincher’s work is cinematically brilliant, the overall effect mesmerizing and horrifying. Ben Affleck is perfectly cast as Nick Dunne, a guy who’s disarming ability to charm the ladies has got him into trouble he could never have dreamed of. We meet him on the day of his 5th Wedding Anniversary, discussing the state of his marriage with his twin sister Margo (Carrie Coon), his best friend and business partner. He is not a happy man. Things are about to take a turn for the worse when Nick finds his wife (Rosamond Pike) has suddenly gone missing. ‘Gone Girl’ is an American thriller adapted by author and now screenwriter, Gillian Flynn from her 2012 novel of the same name. Strong performances from Neil Patrick Harris, Tyler Perry, and Carrie Coon add an essential level of believability that will leave you thinking about this one for some time. Opening the 52nd NYFF, under David Fincher’s deft direction, the screen adaptation of ‘Gone Girl’ is bound to be a strong contender for Oscar consideration.

Amy Dunne (Rosamond Pike) is totally ‘the cool girl’, beautiful, sexy, highly educated and very likeable. Initially we are very sympathetic to her plight. She finds herself totally dislocated, having moved to Nick’s home town from NYC. He is in his element, running a bar and apparently completely oblivious to her isolation. She has a ton of money from a trust fund, while Nick is struggling to get on his feet financially. Amy has been haunted all her life by her alter ego “Amazing Amy”, a fictional character based on Amy, created by her parents. ‘Creative Amy’ is the source of the money, and has always stolen the show, being just one step ahead of the real Amy.

The police arrive at the couple’s perfect suburban home to investigate Amy’s disappearance. Nick and Amy have a strange game they play each anniversary, a mystery game, where each of them leave clever clues to lead the other on to a final surprise. Nick is suspicious that Amy’s disappearance is part of her desire to game play, the police are not so sure and suspect Nick of foul play. Is Amy playing some macabre game, is she dead? Is she a terrified wife with an insensitive husband? Is Nick guilty or caught in a web of deception? We want to know more about these characters; what could their motivations be? Suddenly it begins to appear that Amy may be a psychopath who understands how to fully manipulate people, especially Nick. As the story unfolds revealing deeper insights into what might be going on the audience is kept on the edge of their seats, aghast at the traps that have been so cleverly laid. We don’t want to believe that unconscionably cruel events are bringing cold bloodedly planned and the victims being lured brilliantly into a carefully laid trap.