David Fincher has made some of the most interesting psychological thrillers out there. His body of work explores an expansive variety of topics and themes, all while staying within the same aesthetic, stylized tone that is present in many of Fincher's films. He has such a wide variety of films that are all so well done that many will argue about which of his movies actually is the best. And although there are plenty of David Fincher's films to choose from, Gone Girl stands out as the best psychological thriller among his work because of the screenplay, the acting, and the ability to capture the right tone in order to properly frighten and thrill an audience.
There are two sides to every story, and Gone Girl goes the route of showing a story about a relationship so messy and toxic that it will make viewers cringe as each side of the story comes closer to an end. This is some of Fincher's best work with no small thanks to the screenwriter and author of the novel the film is based on—Gillian Flynn. This was Flynn's first screenplay, and when she wrote the first draft for 20th Century Fox, David Fincher was so impressed he jumped on the project. Fincher was heavily involved with the final production of the screenplay. With Flynn's impressive story and Fincher's sharp eye, the final product is near perfection.
The story follows two main characters who have been married for five years. Nick and Amy Dunne (played by Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike) are perfectly cast in these roles. Nick's side of the story is that his wife is missing on their fifth wedding anniversary, and the amount of suspicious evidence pointing towards murder is not looking good for Nick especially considering his apathetic demeanor upon learning about the disappearance of his wife.
Just like that, Amy was able to spin a few lies, plant some fake evidence, and convince the world she had been murdered by her own husband. The media ran with these lies, and before Nick knew what was happening, his life was suddenly falling apart. This movie shows just how scary a situation like this can be. The lies and deceit of another can be perpetuated by the media to condemn an innocent person, and that makes th story an emotional roller coaster. Amy's psychotic behavior looks bad and there's no excuse for it, but the story begins to make more sense when we start to hear Amy's side of everything.
There are a lot of movies that men can relate to that are considered to be 'male power fantasies.' Gone Girl is the female equivalent to this. The events that lead Amy to want to destroy Nick's life and get him on death row happen to a lot of women. And through Gone Girl, women who have been through similar situations can enjoy a movie that safely explores a revenge story they would have liked to see in their own life, all while getting away with it. Amy's side of the story is that she's always had to play the part of the perfect woman (or Cool Girl) out of fear of losing her husband, having her parent's book franchise character outshine her, or just out of the fear of not having a perfect life.
When Amy discovers Nick has been cheating on her with one of his younger, former students and has even decided to ask for divorce on the day of their fifth anniversary after years of emotional neglect, Amy plans out her murder story. She makes fake diary entries, befriends a pregnant neighbor in order to steal her urine to appear as if she herself is pregnant, ups her life insurance, and creates a paper trail of money troubles through excessive spending. All in the name of revenge. This line from the film perfectly captures Amy's point of view: "Nick Dunne took my pride and my dignity and my hope and my money. He took and took from me until I no longer existed. That's murder. Let the punishment fit the crime."
Gone Girl is an intense thriller story that was elevated by David Fincher's direction and dark style. The acting in this film is very captivating, especially by Rosamund Pike (who was nominated for an Oscar for this role). There is a lot of emotional baggage to the character of Amy considering her relationship with her husband, her parents, and her future child that this could have been a great TV series. The opening and ending shots of the film mirror each other, and the look in Amy's eyes paired with Nick's voice over on the final shot will send chills through viewers' bodies.