Gone Girl review: Ben Affleck, Rosamund Pike sensational in David Fincher adaptation of Gillian Flynn novel

REVIEW: Gone Girl is one of the best films that will be released in 2014. But do what you can to see it without any hints.

Gone Girl (MA15+)

Director: David Fincher (The Social Network)

Starring: Ben Affleck, Rosamund Pike, Kim Dickens, Patrick Fugit, Carrie Coon, Tyler Perry.

Rating : ****1/2

A lady vanishes — the mysteries multiply

Bearing in mind it is one of the best films that will be released in 2014, here are a few handy tips to ensure you come to grips with the slippery prospect that is Gone Girl.

Don’t take sides. Take a deep breath.

Don’t believe everything you see or hear. Go with what you feel.

Oh, and one more thing: see this malevolently mischievous movie as ‘cold’ as you possibly can.

Mystery ... Gillian Flynn’s sensational novel has been adapted for the screen.

A little too much advance knowledge both shortens and changes the result of the many games Gone Girl has to play as a movie.

And what if you happen to be one of the many millions who fell under the spell of Gillian Flynn’s sensational 2012 bestseller of the same name? Rest assured the magic remains intact.

All that is missing is the delicious shock that came with decoding Gone Girl’s torrid, twist-riddled mysteries for the first time.

Lies and deception ... Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike in Gone Girl.

The opening act of the movie digs its claws deep into an audience’s collective curiosity.

Nick Dunne (Ben Affleck) has arrived at his suburban home to discover that his wife Amy (Rosamund Pike) has disappeared.

An initial scan of the house does not bode well for Amy’s whereabouts. The front door is ajar. A glass table in the living room is smashed to smithereens.

Past love ... Neil Patrick Harris is suitably creepy as Desi Collings in Gone Girl.

Oddly, Nick doesn’t seem all that flustered by these developments. Nevertheless, he calls the cops.

It isn’t long before the two detectives (Kim Dickens and Patrick Fugit) handling the case find one more significant clue: a small spatter of blood on a cupboard in the kitchen.

An unofficial interrogation of Nick begins in earnest. Nick waives his right to a lawyer. He has nothing to hide, he calmly states.

It is Nick’s strangely measured responses to investigative questions — not just from the authorities, but also from his twin sister Margo (Carrie Coon) and every news outlet in America — that ultimately supply one half of Gone Girl’s narrative voice.

Under suspicion ... Ben Affleck, Patrick Fugit, David Clennon, Lisa Barnes and Kim Dickens in Gone Girl.

The other half comes from Amy herself, via excerpts from a secret diary she has been keeping through her time with Nick.

This he-said-she-wrote split triggers a series of flashbacks that only serves to heighten the intrigue in the air.

Turns out there was less to Nick and Amy’s seemingly perfectly marriage than first thought. Both knew their union was a charade. But exactly who was each trying to fool?

Nick might have a truthful answer to this question, but hearing it is difficult once the finger-pointing fury of the media intensifies.

Twists and turns ... Ben Affleck, with Tyler Perry, gives a gripping performance in Gone Girl.

In the assured hands of director David Fincher (Se7en, Zodiac), every passing minute of Gone Girl holds your complete attention, while subtly manipulating your perception of what is (and is not) taking place.

Fincher’s clinical stealth as a storyteller has been his calling card throughout his career.

Fincher’s aggressively deceptive approach — further cloaked by several darkly humorous and very funny scenes — is perfectly suited to a clever screenplay penned by Gillian Flynn herself.

Impeccably crafted both before and behind the cameras, Gone Girl is an entertainingly provocative film, bound to set tongues wagging and minds racing for some time to come.

Originally published as Gone Girl review: Ben Affleck, Rosamund Pike sensational in David Fincher adaptation of Gillian Flynn novel