gone girl movie resume

THE MOVIE CULTURE

Gone Girl Movie Review And Film Summary(2014)

Gone Girl is a 2014 American psychological thriller film directed by David Fincher and with a screenplay by Gillian Flynn based on her 2012 novel of the same title.

Set in Missouri, the story is a postmodern mystery that follows the events surrounding Nick Dunne (Affleck), who becomes the prime suspect in the sudden disappearance of his wife Amy (Pike).

Gone Girl Film Cast

Ben Affleck as Nick Dunne, a teacher
Rosamund Pike as Amy Elliott Dunne, Nick’s missing wife
Neil Patrick Harris as Desi Collings, Amy’s wealthy ex-boyfriend
Tyler Perry as Tanner Bolt, Nick’s attorney
Carrie Coon as Margo “Go” Dunne, Nick’s twin sister
Kim Dickens as Detective Rhonda Boney, the lead investigator on Amy’s disappearance
Patrick Fugit as Officer James Gilpin, Boney’s partner
Missi Pyle as Ellen Abbott, a cable TV host based on Nancy Grace
Emily Ratajkowski as Andie Fitzgerald, Nick’s mistress and student

Gone Girl Movie Plot

On their fifth wedding anniversary, writing teacher Nick Dunne returns home to find his wife Amy missing. Her disappearance receives press coverage, as Amy was the inspiration for her parents’ popular Amazing Amy children’s books.

Detective Rhonda Boney finds poorly concealed evidence of a struggle in the house. Suspicion mounts around Nick, whose apathy is interpreted by the media as characteristic of a sociopath and even sows doubt in his twin sister Margo.

Gone Girl Movie Review

A wife goes missing and the whole media focus shifts to the husband who also becomes the prime suspect later? Gone Girl is just mind-blowing film and a must watch.The book version of “Gone Girl,” is a crime novel: an absorbing, ingenious thriller in which, halfway through, a big twist upends everything. One of Fincher’s best thriller mystery, makes you want to sit down and think about everything that’s going on in this film.

We don’t want to spoil it for you , even though you try to predict the next scene it just gets more and more intense because there is not just one or two but a lot of feelings involved here. Gone girl is a film that you wouldn’t want to miss, and you wouldn’t get tired of re-watching it again and again.

What this movie does so brilliantly is that it shows its audience that how they view media in today’s world, because most of the stories you hear on the news might not be true and how the media can spread lies about people and ruin their lives.

Almost everyone believes in media today but they actually don’t know what the actual situation is in real life , and this movie has got the perfect message.

Neil Patrick Harris as Desi Collings, Amy’s wealthy ex-boyfriend in a still from Gone Girl 2014 movie

Gone Girl Film Critical Reception

The film had its world premiere on opening night of the 52nd New York Film Festival on September 26, 2014, before a nationwide theatrical release on October 3. The film was a critical and commercial success, grossing nearly $370 million on a budget of $61 million, becoming Fincher’s highest-grossing film at the box office.

Pike’s performance as Amy was widely acclaimed by critics, and she received nominations for an Academy Award, BAFTA Award, Golden Globe Award, and Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Actress.

Additional nominations included a Golden Globe Award for Best Director for Fincher and Golden Globe Award, BAFTA, and Critics’ Choice Award nominations for Flynn’s adapted screenplay, which won the Critics’ Choice.

Gone Girl grossed $167.8 million in the U.S. and Canada and $201.6 million in other territories for a worldwide total of $369.3 million, against a production budget of $61 million. Calculating in all expenses, Deadline Hollywood estimated that the film made a profit of $129.99 million, making it one of the most profitable films of 2014.

The Movie Culture Synopsis

Gone Girl is one of Fincher’s masterpiece , it’s very entertaining and good to re-watch. It’s shocking and intense, has a killer suspense. The first and last scene of this film are so very clever.

This film has a dark and disturbing theme and it’s a must watch. Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike did an amazing job in this film. This film is pretty gripping.

It immerses you almost instantly in a mystery – the disappearance of Amy Dunne, a woman in her late 30s who has left New York to accompany her husband Nick back to his native Missouri. This film is available to watch on Netflix .

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Rent Gone Girl on Fandango at Home, Prime Video, Apple TV, or buy it on Fandango at Home, Prime Video, Apple TV.

What to Know

Dark, intelligent, and stylish to a fault, Gone Girl plays to director David Fincher's sick strengths while bringing the best out of stars Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike.

Critics Reviews

Audience reviews, cast & crew.

David Fincher

Ben Affleck

Rosamund Pike

Neil Patrick Harris

Desi Collings

Tyler Perry

Tanner Bolt

Kim Dickens

Det. Rhonda Boney

Gone Girl Plays a Fatal Game of Love and Marriage

Looking for a review that doesn’t spoil the ending? Or do you want to read every piece of analysis about the unexpected twists of a movie like Gone Girl after you’ve seen it? We’re debuting a new feature on Time.com, developed by TIME’s tech lead Mark Parolisi , that lets you have it both ways. Click here to reveal the full analysis if you’ve already seen the film (the spoilers will be in bold), and click again if you change your mind (the spoilers will appear blurred).

Their courtship was a dream: the meeting of attractive opposites — two journalists for New York magazines — reviving the fond banter of film stars past. On their first date, Nick Dunne (Ben Affleck), a small-town Midwesterner at ease in the big city, took rich, elegant Manhattanite Amy Elliott (Rosamund Pike) on a pre-dawn stroll to a bakery and kissed her, as powdered sugar fluttered around them like the finest snowflakes. Later, at a press party for the Amazing Amy children’s books her parents had written about her, Nick pretended to interview her and, from his notebook, removed an engagement ring.

A man — a woman too, but for now, the man — puts a lot of effort into the courtship role. He plays, he may even briefly be , the charming, considerate fellow, attentive to his woman’s every need or whim, just like the hero of some classic romantic comedy that ends at the altar. But that’s just the Old Hollywood version; in real life, the wedding is the beginning of a different story. And if courtship is a movie, marriage is a job that can become a grinding routine, an Ever After without the Happily. In the morning-after cinders of the honeymoon glow, a man may ignore his bride and find a younger woman with whom he can play another exciting game: adultery.

Did you ever wonder, even for an instant, if you could kill your spouse? Or be killed by the one you wed? And, if not, could others imagine it of you? Those are some of the taunts running through Gone Girl , the Gillian Flynn novel and the taut, faithful movie that she, as screenwriter, and David Fincher have made from it. In a property with all the killer-thriller tricks — sudden disappearance and violent death, dark motives and cunning misdirection — the true creepiness of Gone Girl is in its portrait of a marriage gone sour, curdled from its emotional and erotic liberation of courtship into a life sentence together, till death do they part. In Gone Girl , marriage is a prison, and each spouse is both jailer and inmate — perhaps even executioner, too.

Soon after the wedding, Nick and Amy lost their jobs. When he learned from his twin sister Margo (Carrie Coon) that their mother was dying of cancer, Nick abruptly decided to move back to North Carthage, Mo., and take Amy with him. They sold their brownstone — Amy’s brownstone — at a loss. Nick and Margo bought a bar, with Amy’s money, and he taught a journalism class at the community college. (In the book the course is called “How to Launch a Career in Magazines” — a little joke from Flynn, who became a full-time novelist when she was cashiered after a decade at Entertainment Weekly .) When not tending bar with Margo, Nick has kindled an affair with sexy student Andie (Emily Ratajkowski), which leaves Amy alone at home, with no job, doing… hey, what is this brilliant, industrious woman doing? Nick has no idea.

One thing that consumed her interest was preparing a treasure hunt for their fifth wedding anniversary, as she has done each year before: offering clues in rhyme to the hiding places of various gifts. But around noon on the big day, Nick discovers that Amy is gone from their home. Signs of a struggle, and blood wiped from the kitchen floor, suggest she was abducted, possibly murdered. She and Nick were heard arguing the night before, and when word of his affair gets around, he becomes the prime suspect — if not to Rhonda Boney (Kim Dickens), the tough but sympathetic senior detective on the case, then to the neighbors and the avid, rabid media. Amy has left a diary, the record of a devoted wife’s growing suspicions and gnawing fear of her swine of a spouse, as well as the first clue in a brand-new treasure hunt. Nick now must juggle three uncomfortable roles: villain, victim and sleuth.

On the page, Gone Girl was a literary game: a tennis match of alternating chapters from Nick and Amy, with the reader offering to take each character’s side every few pages. Flynn simply — or, rather, complexly — interwove the narratives: Nick’s in the present, revealing more of his sins as he tracks the treasure-hunt clues, and Amy’s in the past, through her diary. He-said–she-said is fine for books, but movies play with the cinematic precept that seeing is believing: we show, you swallow. Given the dueling narratives, of which one, both or neither may be exactly true, it’s pretty impressive that Flynn and Fincher have managed to transfer this bookish jest successfully to the screen. The film amasses evidence against Nick through his own misdeeds, which we see, and through the testimony of Amy’s diary — a silk scarf that may become a noose — which we are shown. Like the novel, the movie detonates its big twist halfway through. So film reviewers must juggle the same ethical dilemma that faced book critics: whether or not to reveal the story’s shocking middle .

So here: Amy, exasperated with her lazy, careless husband and the glum life he had forced her into, faked her own murder and fashioned clues in the diary and the treasure hunt to frame him. She had carefully filched enough cash to live on while she moved in anonymity to the Ozarks. When she was robbed of her money, she contacted Desi Collings (Neil Patrick Harris), with whom she had a teenage affair and who remained desperately smitten, to set her up in his remote lakeside villa. Watching Nick’s declaration of love for her on tabloid TV, Amy decided he might after all be the man for her. Now she just had to figure out a way to explain her disappearance. That meant finding a new male villain.

“You’re not too smart, are you,” says sultry Kathleen Turner to full-of-himself William Hurt in the 1981 Body Heat . “I like that in a man.” In that Lawrence Kasdan thriller, the Turner character — who plays games and goes missing — has a temperature that runs “a couple of degrees high, around a hundred.” Amy is just the opposite: a cucumber-cool conniver, whose treasure hunt is, among other things, a test for Nick, to see if he’s as smart as he thinks he is. If so, he might be a worthy companion after all, suitable for siring a child — another Amazing Amy? Amy’s life was always partly fiction, from the time her parents wrote books about a fantasy image of their daughter: She became an expert at live-action role-playing, as a child, as Desi’s lover, then as Nick’s one-and-only. If she twists her own original plot, and returns to Nick, he’s bound to be as attentive as in their courtship. If not from gratitude, then from fear she can find a way to do him in.

Fincher tried a faithful version of a best-seller last time out, with his Americanization of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo . That was a stillborn exercise compared with Gone Girl , which brings Nick and Amy to attractive, plausible life, and surrounds them with exemplary character actors. Kudos to Dickens, to David Clennon and Lisa Banes as Amy’s parents. (Also noteworthy are Scoot McNairy and Lola Kirke as friends you might not want to meet on the road. Only Harris disappoints; he lacks the hovering menace and ultimate bafflement of a stalker-lover.)

In Se7en and Fight Club , Fincher proved his suave mastery of film violence; in Zodiac , his way of clarifying the many clues in a murder thriller. As he showed in The Social Network , the director also knows that no wound is more toxic than a friend’s betrayal. There will be blood in Gone Girl , but some of the most startling moments are glancing — Amy’s quick kiss that includes a lip bite — and claustrophobic. What can be more ominous than the proximity of two people who are supposed to be in love but may have murder in mind?

Any readers, as they submerge themselves into a novel, automatically make the movie version in their heads. They cast it, too. For Gone Girl , they imagined Affleck as the only Nick, the way Gone With the Wind ’s first readers preemptively saw Clark Gable as Rhett Butler. Good old Ben Affable, with his softness and weaselly charm, not to mention the cleft in his chin, seemed an ideal fit for the likable, not totally trustworthy Nick. The actor has played the bluff, fervent lover before, most notably in a terrific 1997 Kevin Smith rom-com called, yep, Chasing Amy ; and in The Company Men he was the smug suburbanite who gets a comeuppance when he loses his job. It’s no surprise that Affleck slips into the role with the nervous aplomb of a man who starts to realize that the stroll he’s taking may lead to his own hanging.

For Amy, many readers envisioned Cate Blanchett or Charlize Theron; each could play a blond vixen capable of seducing and scaring a husband. But instead, the role went to the lesser-known Rosamund Pike. (Among her roles in Hollywood films: Andromeda in Wrath of the Titans and Tom Cruise’s helper in Jack Reacher .) Pike’s relative unfamiliarity to the mass audience allows her to draw Amy in careful cursive on a blank slate. We know of Pike’s Amy only what we see here: She is pretty, poised, always alert, ready to flash the witty remark that illuminates or scolds. She lives inside Amy’s brilliance, suggesting that the sunniest face can harbor the darkest intent.

In a movie of subtle tones and wild swerves, Pike expertly mixes a cocktail of hot and cold blood. She is the Amazing Amy you could fall for, till death do you part.

Note: An earlier version of this post misspelled the name of the actor Scoot McNairy.

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45 Facts About The Movie Gone Girl

Written by Cesya Brock

Modified & Updated: 30 May 2024

Reviewed by Sherman Smith

Gone Girl, directed by David Fincher and based on the bestselling novel by Gillian Flynn, took the world by storm when it was released in 2014. This psychological thriller quickly became a cinematic sensation, captivating audiences with its intense storyline, gripping performances, and mind-bending plot twists.

In this article, we will delve into the fascinating world of Gone Girl and uncover 45 intriguing facts about the movie that you may not know. From behind-the-scenes secrets to trivia about the cast and crew, these facts will give you a deeper appreciation for this critically acclaimed film that kept audiences on the edge of their seats from start to finish.

Key Takeaways:

“Gone Girl” is a thrilling movie that explores marriage, deceit, and media manipulation. It features a captivating storyline, powerful performances, and unexpected plot twists, keeping viewers on the edge of their seats .
The film’s success led to renewed interest in psychological thrillers and increased book sales for the novel. It challenges perceptions and leaves a lasting impact on audiences, making it a must-watch for movie enthusiasts.

Gone Girl is a psychological thriller film released in 2014.

The movie, based on the novel of the same name by Gillian Flynn, was directed by David Fincher.

The film stars Ben Affleck as Nick Dunne and Rosamund Pike as Amy Dunne.

They deliver exceptional performances, capturing the complexities of their characters.

Gone Girl explores themes of marriage, deceit, and media manipulation.

The story takes unexpected twists and turns, keeping the audience engaged throughout.

The film received critical acclaim and was a commercial success.

It grossed over $369 million worldwide, against a budget of $61 million.

Gone Girl was nominated for numerous awards, including an Academy Award for Rosamund Pike’s performance.

Pike received widespread recognition for her portrayal of Amy Dunne.

The screenplay for Gone Girl was written by Gillian Flynn herself.

She effectively adapted her own novel into a compelling and suspenseful script.

The movie’s soundtrack was composed by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross.

The haunting and atmospheric music adds to the tension of the film.

Gone Girl features a nonlinear narrative structure.

The story unfolds through flashbacks and alternating perspectives, adding to the mystery.

The film’s cinematography, done by Jeff Cronenweth, is visually stunning.

The use of dark and moody lighting enhances the sinister atmosphere of the movie.

Gone Girl tackles issues of perception and media sensationalism.

It raises thought-provoking questions about how truth and lies can be manipulated for public consumption.

The movie explores the dark side of relationships and the breakdown of trust.

It delves into the complexities of marriage and the secrets that can lurk beneath the surface.

Gone Girl features a talented ensemble cast, including Neil Patrick Harris, Tyler Perry, and Carrie Coon.

Each actor brings depth and nuance to their respective roles.

The film has several shocking plot twists that keep viewers on the edge of their seats.

It is a rollercoaster ride of suspense and intrigue.

Gone Girl earned a reputation for its surprising and unconventional storyline.

It defies genre expectations and keeps audiences guessing until the very end.

The movie’s marketing campaign played on the mystery and intrigue surrounding the story.

It built anticipation and curiosity among audiences.

Gone Girl examines the power dynamics within relationships.

It portrays the manipulation and control one partner can exert over the other.

The film received praise for its strong female characters.

Amy Dunne, in particular, is a complex and multifaceted character.

Gone Girl explores themes of revenge and the lengths one will go to maintain control.

It reveals the dark side of human nature.

The movie’s screenplay deviates slightly from the novel, bringing its own unique twists.

This adds an element of surprise for those familiar with the book.

The film’s editing, done by Kirk Baxter, is seamless and effectively builds tension.

The pacing keeps the audience engaged from start to finish.

Gone Girl examines the impact of the media on high-profile cases.

It raises questions about the ethics and responsibility of journalism.

The movie’s gripping storyline and compelling performances leave a lasting impact on viewers.

It is a film that lingers in the mind long after the credits roll.

Gone Girl features a memorable supporting cast, including Kim Dickens and Patrick Fugit.

They bring depth and authenticity to the story.

The film’s production design, led by Donald Graham Burt, effectively portrays the contrasting worlds of Nick and Amy.

Their respective environments reflect their personalities and hidden truths.

Gone Girl explores the concept of identity and how it can be shaped and manipulated.

It raises questions about authenticity and the masks we wear in relationships.

The movie’s screenplay delves into the darkest aspects of human behavior.

It explores themes of obsession, deceit, and manipulation.

Gone Girl was a box office success, exceeding expectations.

It resonated with audiences around the world, leading to its commercial success.

The film’s costume design, done by Trish Summerville, effectively reflects the characters’ personalities and moods.

The wardrobe adds depth to the story.

Gone Girl received praise for its complex and intricate plot.

The story is meticulously woven, leaving no loose ends.

The movie’s success led to renewed interest and popularity in psychological thrillers.

It paved the way for similar films in the genre.

Gone Girl explores the concept of perception versus reality.

It challenges viewers to question the motives and actions of the characters.

The film’s sound design creates an immersive experience for viewers.

The subtle details enhance the tension and atmosphere of the movie.

Gone Girl received critical acclaim for its screenplay, direction, and performances.

It is considered a standout in the genre.

The movie’s final act delivers a shocking and satisfying conclusion.

It ties up the loose ends and reveals the truth behind the characters’ actions.

Gone Girl was a game-changer in terms of its narrative structure and storytelling techniques.

It pushed the boundaries of what a psychological thriller could be.

The film’s success led to increased book sales for Gillian Flynn’s novel.

It introduced a new audience to her gripping storytelling.

Gone Girl explores themes of manipulation and control within relationships.

It sheds light on the darker side of love and marriage.

The movie’s title, Gone Girl, holds significant meaning within the context of the story.

It symbolizes the disappearance and transformation of Amy Dunne.

Gone Girl is known for its powerful and intense performances.

The actors bring depth and emotion to their roles.

The film’s screenplay is filled with sharp and clever dialogue.

It adds to the suspense and intrigue of the story.

Gone Girl examines the role of media and public perception in shaping narratives.

It raises questions about the reliability of information in the digital age.

The movie’s marketing campaign created a sense of mystery and intrigue.

It heightened anticipation for its release.

Gone Girl’s success cemented David Fincher’s reputation as a master of suspense.

He expertly crafts tension and suspense in every scene.

The film’s pacing keeps viewers engaged, never allowing a dull moment.

It is a thrilling and suspenseful ride from start to finish.

Gone Girl is a thought-provoking film that stays with you long after you’ve watched it.

It challenges perceptions and leaves audiences pondering its themes.

Gone Girl is a gripping and intense thriller that keeps audiences on the edge of their seats. With its intricate plot, memorable characters, and shocking twists, it has become a modern classic in the world of cinema. The movie’s success can be attributed to its talented cast, led by Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike , as well as the masterful direction of David Fincher. The film explores themes of marriage, deception, and the dark side of human nature, leaving viewers questioning their own perceptions of truth and manipulation. Whether you’re a fan of psychological thrillers or simply enjoy a good mystery, Gone Girl is a must-watch movie that will leave you captivated until the very end.

Q: Who directed Gone Girl?

A: Gone Girl was directed by David Fincher , known for his work on other acclaimed films such as Fight Club and The Social Network.

Q: Is Gone Girl based on a book?

A: Yes, Gone Girl is based on the bestselling novel of the same name by Gillian Flynn . The film stays true to the suspenseful and twist-filled nature of the book.

Q: What genre is Gone Girl?

A: Gone Girl is a psychological thriller. It combines elements of mystery, suspense, and drama to create a thrilling and thought-provoking viewing experience.

Q: How long is Gone Girl?

A: The runtime of Gone Girl is approximately 2 hours and 29 minutes.

Q: What is the plot of Gone Girl?

A: Gone Girl follows the story of Nick Dunne, whose wife Amy goes missing on their fifth wedding anniversary. As the investigation unfolds, secrets and lies are revealed, leading to a shocking twist that keeps viewers guessing until the very end.

Q: Is Gone Girl a true story?

A: No, Gone Girl is a work of fiction. However, its realistic portrayal of relationships and the dark side of human nature adds to its gripping and believable narrative.

If you're craving more captivating cinematic content, dive into our exploration of the thriller genre's most gripping films. Uncover fascinating insights about acclaimed director David Fincher , whose works continue to captivate audiences worldwide. For those seeking enigmatic tales, our article on Eleusinian Mysteries will satisfy your curiosity and leave you pondering life's greatest secrets.

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The complex nonlinear narrative of Gone Girl jumps back and forth across its story timeline, gradually revealing past events that affect the action in the present. Gone Girl opens with Nick Dunne (Ben Affleck) returning home on his fifth wedding anniversary to find that his wife, Amy (Rosamund Pike), is missing. This opening sequence instantly launches the local police – and the audience – into the central mystery of Gone Girl . But it’s far from the first scene to take place chronologically. During the ensuing investigation into Amy’s disappearance, Gone Girl keeps cutting back to events in the past that eventually led to her self-abduction.

Perfectly cast as Amy Dunne , Rosamund Pike earned an Oscar nomination for Best Actress for her fierce, sinister turn as a resentful spouse who fakes her own kidnapping just to spite her husband. Gillian Flynn’s screenplay, adapted from her own novel, stays true to the source material with a lot of the same shocking twists and turns. The movie also adapted the book’s convoluted story timeline, carefully revealing crucial information to allow the audience to put together the pieces of the puzzle. Here's what the movie would look like if it played out in chronological order.

RELATED: 15 Movies Like Gone Girl Everyone Needs To See

January 8, 2005: Nick Dunne & Amy Elliott Meet

On January 8, 2005, at a party in New York City, Nick Dunne meets Gone Girl ’s villain protagonist , Amy Elliott, and his life is never the same again. Nick and Amy hit it off immediately as they have a lot in common, and they're both writers working in the city. Two days later, on the 10th, Amy writes about the meeting in her diary. Nick is entranced by the fact that Amy was the inspiration for her parents’ popular Amazing Amy series of children’s books. After they start dating, they quickly fall in love.

February 24, 2007: Nick & Amy Get Engaged

A little over two years later, on February 24, 2007, Nick and Amy become engaged to be married. Amy decides it's time to settle down, and she's happy enough with Nick to take the plunge with him. During their courtship, Amy reveals to Nick that the Amazing Amy character was an idealized version of her without any of her imperfections. At the time, before they become husband and wife in the Gone Girl story , Nick has no idea just how bad those imperfections are and how close they will come to ruining his life in the years that follow.

Summer 2010: Nick & Amy Move To Missouri

When the recession impacts Nick’s income and his mother is diagnosed with breast cancer, he and Amy make the not-so-mutual decision to move to Missouri. The move means that they can save money on living costs and also be closer to Nick’s family during a tough time. Amy writes about the financial crisis’s effect on Nick’s career in a July diary entry and writes about her feelings surrounding the move to Missouri in a September diary entry. Having to leave behind the glitzy metropolis of New York City to move to Nick’s hometown of North Carthage makes Amy resent him.

January 2011: Nick Begins An Affair With His Student

In January 2011, Nick starts cheating on Amy with one of his students, Andie Fitzgerald (Emily Ratajkowski). Engaging in an extramarital affair with another woman makes Nick even more distant in his relationship with Amy. The novel goes into more detail about Amy’s awareness of the affair. In the book, not only does Amy know Nick is cheating on her with Andie, but she also follows Andie around and stalks her social media profiles. She gets to know Andie so well from lurking in the shadows that she can tell her personality during the press conference is phony.

RELATED: 10 Behind-The-Scenes Facts About Gone Girl

October 1, 2011: Amy Starts To Fear Nick

Nick and Amy having an argument in Gone Girl

On October 1, 2011, Amy writes in her diary that she's beginning to fear Nick. When she tells him that she thinks it's time for them to have a baby and start a family, he argues with her. As she tries to keep him from leaving the house, he shoves her. Amy’s diary entries are the source of some of Gone Girl ’s most quotable lines , and after Nick pushes her, she writes that she's worried about his capacity for violence. The diary entries about this fear come back to haunt Nick later when Amy goes missing and the police start looking into her conspicuous husband’s past.

Early 2012: Amy Prepares For Her Disappearance

Rosamund Pike and Ben Affleck in Gone Girl (2014)

In the months leading up to Amy’s disappearance, she talks a distracted Nick into increasing her life insurance to $1.2 million. Amy also racks up thousands of dollars worth of credit card debt in Nick’s name, so that when she vanishes, it will look like he killed her for the insurance money.

July 5, 2012: Amy Disappears

Nick poses with Amy's missing poster in Gone Girl

On July 5, 2012, Nick and Amy’s fifth wedding anniversary, she goes missing. Nick comes home, and she is gone. Since he can’t get in touch with her, he eventually reports her disappearance to the police, who quickly find alarming diary entries that seem to incriminate Nick — all of these are fabricated by Amy, proving to be among Fincher’s best villains , in order to frame her husband.

July 6-11, 2012: Nick Begins An Attempt To Clear His Name

The day after Amy’s disappearance, Nick holds a press conference to portray himself as a concerned spouse. The next day, a photo of Nick with Shawna Kelly (Kathleen Rose Perkins) gains widespread media attention and prompts more scrutiny. The day after that, Nick holds another press conference and a vigil in Amy’s honor, but he also sleeps with his mistress, Andie. Over the next few days, Nick hires attorney Tanner Bolt (Tyler Perry), who convinces him to go on live TV to appear innocent. Meanwhile, Amy is staying at a campground in the Ozarks and waiting for Nick, a protagonist the audience roots against , to be convicted of her murder.

Related: 10 Mystery Movies That Will Keep You Up At Night

July 24-30, 2012: Amy Stays With Desi Collings & Ultimately Kills Him

In late July, after being robbed by her campground neighbors, Amy visits her ex-boyfriend Desi Collings (Neil Patrick Harris), convincing him that she's run from Nick’s abuse. Amy and Desi watch when Nick goes on live TV and confesses to having an affair while reiterating that he didn’t murder Amy. When Nick’s rampant credit card debt is uncovered and the purchases are found in his shed – all a part of Amy’s scheme – Detective Rhonda Boney (Kim Dickens) gets an arrest warrant and searches his property. After her plan fails and Nick is released from jail, Amy kills Desi and frames him for the kidnapping.

August 4, 2012: Amy Comes Home

After murdering Desi, Amy returns home covered in his blood ( a possible Gone Girl plot hole ) and claims that she killed him in self-defense. As she faints into Nick’s arms in front of a sea of news cameras, he is immediately cleared of all suspicion. She tells FBI investigators that Desi kidnapped and assaulted her, which she can "prove" with self-inflicted injuries. The story holds up because, years earlier, when their relationship ended, Amy had taken out a restraining order against Desi for stalking her. When Detective Boney tries to point out the inconsistencies in Amy’s account, Amy expertly turns it around on her.

September 23, 2012: Nick & Amy Decide To Stay Together For Their Baby

From the moment Amy returns home, Nick knows she is lying. He knows she faked the kidnapping to destroy his life and murdered Desi as a backup when the plan failed. In the weeks that follow, Nick secretly plots to do a live TV interview in which he'll expose Amy’s lies. This leads to Gone Girl ’s twist ending . On the morning of the interview, Amy reveals to Nick that she has inseminated herself with his sperm. Feeling trapped by responsibility, Nick decides to stay with Amy for the sake of the child. Against his better judgment, instead of revealing Amy’s crimes in the interview, Nick announces the pregnancy.

MORE: Gone Girl Ending, Explained

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Official Discussion: Gone Girl [SPOILERS]

Synopsis: On the occasion of his fifth wedding anniversary, Nick Dunne reports that his beautiful wife, Amy, has gone missing. Under pressure from the police and a growing media frenzy, Nick's portrait of a blissful union begins to crumble. Soon his lies, deceits and strange behavior have everyone asking the same dark question: Did Nick Dunne kill his wife?

Director: David Fincher

Writer: Gillian Flynn

Ben Affleck as Nick Dunne

Rosamund Pike as Amy Elliott-Dunne

Neil Patrick Harris as Desi Collings

Tyler Perry as Tanner Bolt

Carrie Coon as Margo Dunne

Kim Dickens as Detective Rhonda Boney

Patrick Fugit as Detective Jim Gilpin

Casey Wilson as Noelle Hawthorne

Missi Pyle as Ellen Abbott

Sela Ward as Sharon Schieber

Emily Ratajkowski as Andie Hardy

Kathleen Rose Perkins as Shawna Kelly

Lisa Banes as Marybeth Elliott

David Clennon as Rand Elliott

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 86%

Metacritic Score: 79/100

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Gone Girl Ending, Explained

“What are you thinking? How are you feeling? What have we done to each other?” It is impossible to sit with a straight brow when Nick Dunne, the protagonist of David Fincher’s ‘Gone Girl’, adapted from Gillian Flynn’s eponymous novel, mouths these lines during the opening of the film, looking at his wife, calling them “the primal questions of marriage.” I, for one, am petrified as a man at the possibility of inhabiting the same space with any one of the female protagonists from Gillian Flynn’s fertile imagination. To be calling them demented, or sociopathic, or even psychopathic would simply be euphemizing the unsettling brilliance of these characters, and to the kind of complex yarn Flynn has spun them out from.

Having recently watched ‘Sharp Objects’, an HBO limited series based on Flynn’s novel of the same name, I admit that it was a nightmare revisiting Amy Elliott Dunne in ‘Gone Girl’. It is true when they say that ‘Gone Girl’ is possibly among the worst movies you could pick for watching on a date night. The film, simultaneously working as a deconstruction of modern marriages and media sensationalization in the current day and age also presents a frighteningly real picture that makes you paranoid and uneasy, while it may also go on to unnerve a thing or two in your relationship. Consider yourself warned!

What makes Gone Girl click, perhaps most, (not counting its obvious credits as a well-made film and a taut thriller), is that we have all been there. We have all been part of a manipulative relationship, stuck with a manipulative partner, or been cheated upon wherein all hell broke loose once the masks of normalcy were shed. While watching the film, Nick Dunne’s plight makes you feel for him, just as you feel for Amy when Nick’s affair is revealed, even looking for reasons to justify Amy’s twisted plan for revenge against Nick. The end is where all comes undone, and Amy does something the equivalent of what Nick could never have pulled off. I know of at least a dozen guys who turned and looked at their girlfriends in disbelief, looking at Amy’s antics on screen. “Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned” could have then perhaps served as a better marketing line for the film.

‘Gone Girl’ is a story of the trials and tribulations that a couple, Nick and Amy Dunne go through in their young marriage. With all things breezy at first, life eventually hits hard and things spiral out of control as problems in their marriage and individual selves surface. With money problems at the helm and a failing marriage, Nick cheats on Amy with his young student, to which Amy decides to exact revenge by mysteriously disappearing one day and leaving an elaborately planned plot that unravels in her wake, sure to land Nick in prison for the murder of his wife, or penalised by death. The unraveling of the plan in brilliant fashion and Amy’s return when her plan doesn’t work out the way she’d hoped it would, form the major and best bits of this dark thriller.

While ‘Gone Girl’ is not Fincher’s best work by any yardstick, it is a solid and well-made film, benefitting heavily from the screenplay penned by Flynn herself. It is also one of his most entertaining films in the sense that it kept me glued even during repeat viewings, which is a feat in itself for a suspense thriller. Rosamund Pike as Amy is chilling to the spine in her most cold moments, and the effective bits of the film rest on her able shoulders. Ben Affleck too shines in the role of the husband, but the film almost entirely belongs to Pike’s performance and Amy’s psychotically manipulative character.

The Crackdown of Modern Relationships

The film might just be a discourse on modern relationships, marriages and romantic life in general for a contemporary couple. I am not saying that the horrific happenings of the second half of the film are how every relationship proceeds (we’d be damned), but consider this. Nick and Amy from the first half could be anybody. They are both smart, independent, appeal to each other’s sensibilities, fall for each other and naturally take the next step: getting married. So, what keeps that marriage afloat when you take off the rose-tinted glasses and things get too real too soon? It is the instant when even full-time commitment morphs itself into something greater that you truly see your partner for what they are.

Most marriages that make it past these ‘tests’ are those that last. It is, as Ben Affleck narrates at one instance in voiceover in the film while contemplating his failing marriage: “Want to test your marriage for weak spots? Add one recession, subtract two jobs. It’s surprisingly effective.” Nick and Amy’s perfect world too is tested, and as problems (money, jobs, credit, jadedness, priorities) come to the fore, their uglier sides are revealed to their partners, giving way to resentment. On their fifth anniversary, Nick wishes to inform Amy about his decision to seek divorce, not knowing she had different plans in mind.

Unequivocally, the ending remains the epitome of the film. Brutal, unflinching, and grotesquely unsettling, the ending leaves you with a sense of uneasiness that may last days. Let me try to sum it up, lest words fail to recreate the absolute shock of it.

Having been robbed of her money by her neighbours at the campground in the Ozarks, Amy turns to Desi Collings, her long-time lover and ex-flame against who she’d earlier filed a restraining order. She convinces Desi that she ran away due to Nick’s abusive nature, and he agrees to house her in his isolated lakehouse, hoping to rekindle lost love. Meanwhile, Nick is arrested due to incriminating evidence found against him, but not before he makes a rousing revelation on television asking for Amy’s and the public’s forgiveness in an attempt to lure her out.

This ‘ seemingly ’ works, as Amy, under the pretext of having sex with Desi, slits his throat with a box cutter and elopes, returning to Nick covered in Desi’s blood. She states Desi as her captor and confesses that he kidnapped and raped her, which is corroborated with Desi’s semen found inside Amy and footage and injury marks Amy staged to make Desi look guilty. The FBI buys that, even though Detective Rhonda Boney, the investigating officer is discerning and questions her on possible loopholes in her story. She returns home to Nick, and both of them pretend to be the happy couple the public sees them as.

On being confronted by Nick, she confesses she came back because Nick pleaded her on national television to do so, and she now wanted to see him become that very man. She threatens to destroy his reputation if he left, as Nick is left baffled contemplating his future with a killer under the same roof, even though she reassures she would never hurt Nick, also expressing her wish that Nick participates in correcting the wrongs of their marriage. This escalates as Amy starts acting like the perfect wife, preparing breakfast for him. Nick decides to expose her on TV for what she’d done, but Amy surprises Nick by revealing that she was pregnant by artificially inseminating herself using Nick’s sperm stored at a fertility clinic for testing. He threatens to leave, violently confronting her, but is manipulated into staying when Amy says that she won’t need to teach his child to hate him if he left. The two of them then continue with their lives under the limelight, also bagging a book deal, a movie offer, and a franchise for Nick and Margo’s bar, as they reveal Amy’s pregnancy on television, and the credits roll.

The Nick-Amy Dynamic

While I may not go as far as calling Amy a psychopath, she definitely is a sociopath, for the very reason she eloped and set Nick up in the first place. Also, in a latent, twisted way, she does care for Nick. There are definitely more facets to the fact that Nick chose to stay with Amy, and why Amy returned, despite all that conspired. At this point, it would be safe to say, Nick and Amy never really loved each other. They were briefly attracted to each other, but they ‘fell in love’ with the roles the other played, rather than their real selves.

Amy is a narcissistic, controlling woman. Nick is an ignorant and lazy fellow, not to forget a liar and a cheater too. That is what their reality is. A relationship between their real selves would be a ticking time bomb, as it later proved to be. Their roles, the ones they played at the beginning of the film that made them fall for each other, the masks they put on then made them return to each other towards the end of the film. It is then ironic that their resolution to not become “that” couple landed them exactly there.

The Nick-Amy dynamic is one that is not explained by a cause and effect relationship or linear mechanism, but is rather better represented cyclically, wherein one feeds off another. Amy derives strength to feed her narcissism and her constant need for attention from Nick, stating multiple times how he could not have landed anyone better than her. Nick sees himself rise to the occasion when he has to woo Amy, and this is the Nick he likes more, the cooler Nick: one who proposes in suave fashion in front of a group of reporters and has sex in a library to keep things exciting. Currently in the film’s timeline, he basks in the role of the loving, reformed husband who got a second chance at love. Their ‘roles’ is what they become in the end.

“Amazing Amy and the humbled husband!”, as remarked by Margo. Between all this, one is left to wonder who is the more manipulative of the two: the cheating husband who put up a face on live television, luring the wife out of hiding? Or the murderous wife who calculated every one of her moves till the very end? While you contemplate on that, this section has presented us with some significant findings that will help answer two of the most important character questions the film’s ending raises.

Why did Amy kill Desi Collings and return to Nick?

It would be crude to say that poor Desi Collings was just a bait sacrificed in the deadly game of one-upmanship that Nick and Amy found themselves in, but it is harshly true in a lot of ways. Yes, Amy returned to him when she was robbed and her plan backfired. The game changed when she saw Nick confess his infidelity on television, and pleaded for her to come back. “Maybe I only need to reach one” , he said. That, he did.

An important part of Amy’s planned punishment for Nick was public humiliation and for him to be hated by the nation perhaps. All that changed when Nick shifted the public’s sentiment towards him by becoming the remorseful husband who then had the public’s commiseration. That is Amy’s unbecoming, who then returns to Nick to resume her role, her faced that she’d donned, of ‘Amazing Amy’. She kills Desi in cold blood and uses her condition and ‘abuse’ to dodge any questions that may reveal the truth. Nick perhaps realises the true reason of her return, attention and the public eye, irrespective of the murder, when the first expression he has when Amy returns and collapses in his arms is “You f**king bitch!”. The last part of that may just be true.

As soon as she does return, her image in the public eye changes. From poor Amy who was abused at the hands of her husband, it becomes that of a fighter, and a survivor, one she happily enjoys and enrols her unwilling husband along to play the game, on her conditions. Fearful, but brilliant. She now has the public eye, and is confident enough to manipulate Nick into staying with her, and becoming the husband she desires.

Why did Nick stay?

Important question, with an arguably simple answer. I will let this fantastic piece of dialogue from the film let you in on it.

Nick Dunne: {Pushing Amy against the wall on being threatened] You fucking cunt! Amy Dunne: I’m the cunt you married. The only time you liked yourself was when you were trying to be someone this cunt might like. I’m not a quitter, I’m that cunt. I killed for you; who else can say that? You think you’d be happy with a nice Midwestern girl? No way, baby! I’m it. Nick Dunne: Fuck. You’re delusional. I mean, you’re insane, why would you even want this? Yes, I loved you and then all we did was resent each other, try to control each other. We caused each other pain. Amy Dunne: That’s marriage.

Nothing, I repeat, nothing in the film hit me as hard as this singularly amazing conversation. Kudos to Flynn for keeping it real. Behind the far removed illusions that our society currently finds itself rested on, the last leg of this conversation is like a kick in the groin. Now, back to scrounging for answers.

Yes, Amy’s revelation of her pregnancy and her threat of making sure Nick’s baby would grow up to hate him was one of the reasons, but it wasn’t the only one. Nick stayed because of what Amy said; as twisted as it may sound, Nick began to draw some sort of sadistic gratification from the little game that transpired upon Amy’s return back home. As discussed, The Nick he became when he wanted to woo Amy was the Nick Amy wanted him to be. The Nick he became from rising up to Amy’s little game is the Nick he wanted to be. With his little time in the limelight and stint with the media and the public, fickle as the Roman mob, he has learnt the game of manipulation that Amy masters. Deep inside, he WANTS to be seen as the loving husband who will give everything to make their marriage work, upon being given a second chance at love. Again, twisted, but brilliant.

What next for Amy and Nick?

“When two people love each other and can’t make that work, that’s the real tragedy.”

Far from making it work, actually. Tanner Bolt was correct on account of saying two things. One, Amy and Nick’s current predicament is a perfect predicament. A twisted, almost psychotic, manipulative couple like that living under the same roof? I’d pay to watch that. The second, when he warns Nick not to piss her off, and we all know Nick is smarter than that.

For what’s said and shown, their future might hold more than just a book and movie deal. There will be tensions, manipulations and perhaps a violent confrontation and breakdown or two. Throw a baby in the mix, and things are bound to spice up a little more. They might even grow into the roles they assume under the guise of normalcy. However, in front of a camera, they’d both know better to put on their alternate faces, those of America’s tabloid sweethearts. A couple touched by the miracle of the Mississippi, a couple given a second chance at love, a couple that survived.

The film closes with virtually the same frame and quote it begins with, the prime difference being Amy’s diabolical smile, with Nick running his hands through Amy’s hair. Picturing her head, cracking her lovely skull, unspooling her brains, looking for answers. Dear girlfriend, can’t resent that I didn’t think the same when the film ended. “What are you thinking? How are you feeling? What have we done to each other? What will we do?”

Read More in Explainers: Sharp Objects | American Psycho | Passengers

The Ending Of Gone Girl Explained

Based on the novel of the same name by Gillian Flynn, "Gone Girl" might seem like your ordinary psychological thriller on the surface, but there are many layers to this twisting tale. One of the best thrillers of all time , it's about the murder of a woman and the slowly unfurling mystery of who did it. Penned by the book's author, the film centers on Amy Dunne (Rosamund Pike) and her husband Nick (Ben Affleck), a once-happy couple whose story is upended when Amy goes missing. Before long, the seemingly innocent Nick becomes the prime suspect in the investigation. Viewers are left to wonder what's happened to Amy, though the jigsaw pieces slowly fall into place: Flashbacks narrated by the missing woman reveal a different side to their marriage.

With several stunning plot twists that will leave your jaw on the floor, "Gone Girl" is a story of betrayal, abuse, and murder, but it's not exactly what we've come to expect from this type of film. By the end, there's so much to unravel that you might still be wondering what really happened and who was actually to blame for the story's most horrific crimes. If you're still confused, worry not, because we're going to finally explain the ending of "Gone Girl."

What you need to remember about the plot of Gone Girl

"Gone Girl" isn't your ordinary murder mystery. Not only does it have an unconventional story, but its biggest plot twist comes earlier than most — and still might be the best plot twist of all time . It begins with the disappearance of Amy Dunne, who was once the basis for a series of children's books, and whose husband Nick is a writer, too. But the couple had fallen on hard times recently, with both losing their jobs in New York and being forced to move back to Nick's small hometown in Missouri. Nick's aloof attitude after his wife goes missing, combined with some curious credit card purchases and evidence of money troubles, suggests to Detective Rhonda Boney (Kim Dickens) and the wider public that he may have killed his own wife.

Midway through the film, however, we learn that Amy isn't dead at all, and that she has been planning to fake her own murder for quite some time, with an elaborately detailed plan. As it turns out, she carefully constructs her own death scene to frame her husband, wanting to escape her marriage. She even goes as far as to plan a suicide that will further implicate Nick. But she also left behind a series of cryptic clues for Nick to find that point to the truth, and after he secures the services of renowned lawyer Tanner Bolt (Tyler Perry), he's hopeful that he can expose Amy's master plan with the help of his twin sister Margo (Carrie Coon).

What happened at the end of Gone Girl?

Fueled by the coverage of over-the-top cable news host Ellen Abbott (Missi Pyle), family, friends, and law enforcement all start turning on Nick, who becomes desperate to clear his name. But after it's discovered that he's had an affair with a younger woman and had recently added to his wife's life insurance policy, he looks even more guilty. To turn the tide he enlists another television presenter's help, agreeing to a public TV interview that he hopes will set the record straight. Unfortunately, police discover a fake diary Amy wrote to point the finger at Nick and he is ultimately arrested and charged with murder.

When Amy — who is hiding out with ex-boyfriend Desi Collings (Neil Patrick Harris) after being robbed in the Adirondacks — sees the interview, she makes a sudden turn and decides to save Nick from a death sentence. In a shockingly bloody scene, she seduces Desi and slashes his throat, killing him in cold blood. She then returns home and convinces authorities that it was Desi who had kidnapped, imprisoned, and raped her at his remote lake house. While Nick, Margo, Bolt, and Boney all know she's lying, there's not enough evidence to prove it, and the FBI closes the case. In the film's final scenes, Amy reveals in a joint television interview with Nick that she's pregnant with their first child, and Nick reluctantly agrees to stay with her to start a family.

How did Amy get pregnant at the end of Gone Girl?

The final twist in the film is the pregnancy that Amy reveals to the world at the end of the movie. She'd announced the pregnancy to Nick just before sitting down to the television interview, shocking her husband and nearly sending him away in a fit of rage — because he'd refused to sleep with her since she'd returned home. So how exactly did she get pregnant, and is the baby really Nick's? Some may have suspected that the pregnancy was the result of her recent sexual encounter with Desi, but the real answer is found earlier in the film in a scene between Nick and his sister.

In that scene, Nick claimed he'd wanted to have a baby with Amy, and to prove it he showed Margo a letter from a sperm bank. He'd gone there after he and Amy had trouble conceiving, and the letter was a notice that his sample was due for disposal if it wasn't used. At the end of "Gone Girl," though, Amy's pregnancy is announced and she seems confident that she'll pass a paternity test, so it can't be Desi's baby. Though she doesn't say it specifically, she implies that Nick's sperm was never destroyed and that she impregnated herself with his sample at some point earlier, in secret. It was all part of her twisted plan to keep Nick from leaving her.

Who was the real villain in Gone Girl?

The vast majority of murder mysteries have a clear hero and villain. In most stories like this one, a suspect who's been framed is usually completely innocent, and the real villain is easy to spot. But "Gone Girl" isn't your typical thriller: Nobody is truly without guilt. From Amy to Nick, from Margo to TV host Ellen Abbott, they all have some complicity in the film's worst crimes.

Nick, who we are initially led to believe is an upstanding husband being railroaded by a psychotic woman, is revealed to be both a liar and a cheater. He had an affair with a student half his age, and he lied to police — as well as his own sister — about much of his marriage. Margo, too, helped conceal evidence and hide information from authorities, while Abbott used her platform to demonize an innocent man.

But, when it comes to the real villain of the story, there can be no mistaking that Amy is the one person truly responsible for the most horrific acts. A textbook narcissist and possibly a sociopath, we learn that Amy has been using men for her own ends for years, and she has even wrongly accused multiple ex-boyfriends of serious crimes. Her obsession with controlling the men in her life makes her want to destroy Nick — almost to the point of seeing him executed for murder.

Was Amy ever really afraid of Nick?

One of the most distinctive storytelling devices in "Gone Girl" is the film's dueling narratives. While we see Nick searching for his wife, slowly revealing details of their life together, we also hear Amy reading out her diary and describing their relationship very differently. In her version, Nick is seen as an abusive, cheating husband prone to violence who she eventually comes to fear, prompting her to buy a gun for self defense. But when the diary is exposed as part of her plan to frame Nick, audiences may be wondering just how much of what she said was real.

While we can't say for certain (because Nick may also be an unreliable narrator), it seems likely that almost all of the abuse that Amy described in her diary was fabricated. While it's true that Nick admitted to being a bad husband — acknowledging his infidelity — he denied ever laying a hand on his wife. Late in the film, we also get an admission from Amy that it wasn't abuse that made her want out of her marriage to Nick, but his inability to be the man she wanted to spend her life with; A driven, devoted, and adoring husband. When he went on TV and professed his love for her, and his determination to find her, it rekindled her feelings for him.

Why did Amy do it, and why did she return to Nick?

Though Amy reveals her master plan in great detail, admitting to faking her diary and staging her own murder scene, her motives are murky at best. She hates Nick to the point of wanting him dead, yet even the crimes she accuses him of in her diary — pushing her to the floor and threatening her with violence — don't seem consistent with her level of viciousness. That's because Amy isn't what she appears to be.

As explored in the film, Amy seems to have an insatiable desire for attention and adoration from those around her, especially men. This might stem from her own childhood, where she became a minor celebrity, the basis for a popular series of children's books written by her parents. This narcissism is fed early in her marriage by Nick's endless adoration, but that affection dissipates when he loses his job. Amy was then forced to move to Nick's hometown, and she drained her savings to help him invest in a local bar. Then, after discovering his infidelity, Amy's anger turned to bloody rage.

So why did Amy go back to Nick and abandon her plan? As she says in the end, Nick's television interview showed her the driven man she was originally attracted to. But the real question is whether Nick can continue to be that man and save himself from a life of abuse and torment at her hands.

Why did Amy leave all those clues?

It's bad enough that Amy framed Nick for her own murder, but she also left behind a series of cryptic, tormenting clues for him and police to find. Nick thought nothing of them at first — he and Amy regularly played scavenger hunt games — but the notes left behind didn't seem so innocent: They were all left in places where Nick had been having sexual encounters with his younger mistress. The clues even led him to the location of her incriminating diary, but police found it first. Why did she leave these clues?

In addition to being a narcissist and probable sociopath, Amy seems to have a desire to prove she's smarter than everyone else. The clues were left to taunt Nick, and by providing him with a secret code that would allow him to find her diary, it gave him the opportunity to defeat her and prove his innocence. But he would only be able to do it if he could decipher her puzzle — and, ultimately, he was too late, giving her another victory.

How the ending of Gone Girl compares to the novel

Adapted from an acclaimed novel, "Gone Girl" does its best to stay true to the original source material. While most of the story was translated accurately to the screen, there were some subtle alterations made by director David Fincher, particularly to the movie's ending. In the film, Amy murders Desi while having sex with him, brutally slashing his throat as she straddles him in bed in the film's most jaw-dropping moment. But, in the book, Amy is a bit more merciful, drugging him into unconsciousness before she kills him in the same manner, with a knife across the throat. This change was clearly made to make Amy look even more vicious.

Similarly, the movie leaves out a crucial piece of Amy's fabricated evidence against Nick that further explains why he remains with her at the end of the story. In the book, she ingests anti-freeze that she promptly vomits up. She then keeps it saved as further proof of Nick's intent to kill her. As a fail-safe, she even threatens to use this evidence if he ever tries to leave her, while also insinuating that she'll never let him see their child if he tries to expose her, as he plans to write a tell-all book. The film also removes a subplot where Nick seems to fall back in love with Amy through the various clues she left him, reminded of their previous happy relationship.

What Gillian Flynn has said about the ending of Gone Girl

Beyond some of the smaller details, the ending of "Gone Girl" largely follows the book. Its author, Gillian Flynn, has talked about why she chose such a controversial ending. "It was the only thing that made sense to me, that made sense to what was true to the book and true to the characters," she told Entertainment Weekly . "Amy's not going to end up in jail," she continued, claiming that while many fans might have wanted to see Amy face justice, that kind of ending wouldn't have been any better. "People think they would find that satisfying, if she were caught and punished, [but] I promise you, I just don't think you'd find it satisfying for Amy to end up in a prison cell just sitting in a little box."

Many fans over the years, of both the book and the film adaptation, have said that they would have preferred to see Amy get her comeuppance and be killed during the finale, which also made Flynn scoff. "Who's going to do that? I'm not going to have Nick do that. He's not going to do it," she said. Ultimately, Flynn chose an ending that wasn't just unconventional, but truly unsettling, and this was by design. "I've always loved those endings of unease," she said. What happens next is left open, but don't expect a follow-up to explore what becomes of the disquiet couple, as Flynn promises there was never any intent for a sequel.

What David Fincher has said about the ending of Gone Girl

Director David Fincher opened up about why the film — and its ending — interested him during a 2014 Q&A. "I was most interested in the idea of narcissism as a way to hold two people together," he revealed (via IndieWire ). "And the notion that we project the best version of ourselves not only to seduce somebody that we imagine to be perfect for us, but also perfect for our narcissistic rejection."

Beyond the themes the film explored, Fincher says that he was also intrigued by the salaciousness of the story, which he simply found "hilarious." He even admitted that there were moments when he was rooting for Amy during her plan to frame her husband. But what really drew him in was the reaction he knew the ending would elicit. "I also like movies where the audience [recoils]. That's as valid as cheering for the exploding Death Star." If he was looking for a story that would draw shock and awe from its audience, he certainly found it.

What the cast has said about the ending of Gone Girl

Nick from "Gone Girl" is undoubtedly one of Ben Affleck's best roles to date . Speaking to the Detroit Free Press , the actor said that it was crucial the ending remain a secret ahead of the film's release. In his opinion, certain reporters didn't respect this. "We just did an article with The New York Times and they wanted to see the movie," Affleck said. "We did the interview, and lo and behold, the person included basically the essence of the plot in her article. I just felt like this isn't journalism, this isn't news. This is just wanting to be first and not caring if it ruins people's enjoyment of something."

Talking to Collider , Affleck's co-star Rosamund Pike agreed that secrecy was important, and praised Fincher for the movie's marketing campaign. But it was the film's bloody murder scene that caused her much more concern. "If you're going to do something like that, you have to do it with a certain degree of accuracy." She wanted the moment where Amy slashes Desi's throat to be realistic, so she decided to do some research — and Pike did something beyond nasty . "I actually went to a butcher and asked them if they wouldn't mind me just using a box cutter on a pig carcass, just to understand what it would be like."

How fans and critics reacted to the ending of Gone Girl

The ending of "Gone Girl" makes it an unconventional thriller. The perpetrator of the story's worst crimes didn't just get away scot-free, but got everything they wanted. As Gillian Flynn alluded to in her Entertainment Weekly interview, audiences were polarized, with many feeling the film's dark ending should have been different. In fact, many fans and even professional critics were so miffed at the film's conclusion that they posited their own endings that they thought would have been better.

Adam Appleton of the Southeast Missourian proposed five alternative endings, including one version where Amy doesn't return, kept prisoner by Desi, while Nick is found guilty of her murder. "This ending would surely appeal to Fincher's dark side," Appleton wrote. Meanwhile, over on PopSugar , another six possible conclusions were raised by writer Ryan Roschke, with one of the more interesting ideas seeing Desi surviving Amy's attack and murdering both Amy and Nick in a slasher-like ending that feels more like a traditional plot twist.

But it was fans on Reddit who seemed to have the most fun. In one post, u/-AlternateEnding- shared a lengthy idea of their own. In this version, following the film's actual ending, Nick's rage boils over and he kills Amy for real. "This could be by him accidentally pushing Amy down the stairs (the event that Amy concocted while trying to frame him)," they wrote.

Gone Girl (2014 Film)

By david fincher, gone girl (2014 film) analysis.

These notes were contributed by members of the GradeSaver community. We are thankful for their contributions and encourage you to make your own.

Written by Baby Singh and other people who wish to remain anonymous

Gone Girl is a film that centers around Nick and Amy's marriage. How they lost one another, began to use each other, betray one another in so many ways that Amy decides her only course of action is to stage her abduction and what seems like her murder. She does this in order to get back at Nick for what she describes as having already murdered her by how he's taken from her. Fincher's film based on Gillian Flynn's screenplay (from her novel) reveals how slowly over time Amy and Nick's relationship dissolved due to the economic market which forced them to leave their high status life in the big city and move to Nick's suburban midwest hometown where he has become lazy and apathetic in his career and marriage to Amy. This leads to him having an affair while not working.

Nick's relationship to Amy is then put through the scrutinizing lens of the media as he is dubbed a sociopath as he smiles while being photographed with a poster of his missing wife. As Nick's life is combed through over and over again we learn that Amy is alive and well and in desperation calls on an old friend whom stalked her earlier in her life, Desi. She manipulates him into believing that she loves him and asks him to protect her. The integral component of the film is the media. Once Amy sees Nick in his interview on tv she decides he is once again the man she married, and she wants to be with him again. In being able to see her husband reinvigorated she murders Desi and pins her abduction on him as she finds her way back to Nick. And through the media they rekindle their relationship openly.

But in private Nick is ready to come clean to the police about what Amy has done. But she tells him she's pregnant with his baby (she used his frozen sperm to get pregnant). And with that they remain together, locked into the hell their marriage has become. The film speaks on one level how we allow ourselves to dictate our decision making based off what the media tells us, and in this age of social media the "perfect relationship" can be had by anyone, as long as they are seen constantly "in love." This is an idealized state which society holds itself to believe is what they are after when they don't know the reality of the marriage. We also see the media's ability to demonize Nick as a sociopath with one photo, and ultimately redeem him to Amy through his interview. While this is occurring on the television we watch as Detective Boney makes no ground in her case, in a way the media has more power to indict than the police as proof isn't needed in the court of public opinion

In the end, the couple stays together "for the sake of the child." Amy is pregnant and Nick believes himself trapped. It sets up the ideas that a marriage cannot be saved by a marriage (the fight scene where Nick physically abuses Amy), and that it will keep two people who should not be together locked into their commitment, enduring one another for the sake of the kid. So the image of the perfect couple reuniting is exposed to be a gut-wrenching endured relationship that no one truly knows the reality of.

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Gone Girl (2014 Film) Questions and Answers

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Study Guide for Gone Girl (2014 Film)

Gone Girl (2014 Film) study guide contains a biography of director David Fincher, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

About Gone Girl (2014 Film)
Gone Girl (2014 Film) Summary
Character List
Director's Influence

Essays for Gone Girl (2014 Film)

Gone Girl (2014 Film) essays are academic essays for citation. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of Gone Girl (2014 Film), directed by David Fincher.

Gender Roles for the New House Wife in Fincher's 'Gone Girl'
The Exploitative Nature of Marriage and Media in “Gone Girl”
Imaginative Explorations of the Abstracted Nature of American Identity: A Streetcar Named Desire, Blue Jasmine, and Gone Girl

Wikipedia Entries for Gone Girl (2014 Film)

Introduction

Gone Girl (2014) Movie Ending and Themes Explained: Did Nick and Amy End Up Together?

Gone Girl (2014) Themes Analyzed & Ending Explained : Gone Girl is a 2014 American psychological thriller film directed by David Fincher and written by Gillian Flynn, based on her 2012 novel of the same name. Societal expectations of women are a never-ending mundane thing; a girl that abides by norms and regulations, a girl who carries a decent smile on her face, a girl who never says no to her man, a girl who would be the bell of the ball – yet these are mere materialistic attributes that never make a girl prosper. In the film, Nick Dunne ( Ben Affleck ) discovers that the entire media focus has shifted on him when his wife Amy Dunne (Rosamund Pike) mystically disappears on their fifth wedding anniversary.

Gone Girl (2014) Movie Themes Analysed

1. toxic relationships and marriage.

Amy is a brilliant young woman who is shown to possess perfect-girl qualities, although it is all just a facade. Nick’s response was subpar, too; he started having an affair with Andie despite having a wife. Amy always tried to rebuild herself for Nick, groomed herself so that he would notice, and initially, their relationship and marriage were going great, but it became strained over time.

The dynamics of a relationship or a marriage is always a two-way thing. This film shows how couples can come disconnected in due course of time. Also, communication plays an essential role in a relationship. However, Nick choosing to cheat makes everything worse. There are certain expectations that Amy had for Nick; he not only shattered them but decided to be with another woman, which is why Amy became violent later, to begin with. Nevertheless, Amy is enthralled by being in charge of a relationship; she is dominating and tries to control everything besides herself.

2. PRIVATE SELVES AND PUBLIC IDENTITIES

Amy always portrayed the character of a “cool girl” despite having a dark and manipulative traits. She says, “Nick loved a girl I was pretending to be. ‘Cool girl’- men always use that, don’t they, as their defining compliment. She’s a cool girl. Cool girl is hot. Cool girl is game. Cool girl is fun. Cool girl never gets angry at her man. She only smiles in a chagrined, loving manner. She likes what he likes…”. For Nick, Amy went a lot further than she would. Her inner self is demonic where, as she publicly lets everyone speculates how much of a girly girl she is.

The film delves into the question of how we perceive ourselves and how others view us. Nick and Amy both have private and public persona and in this film, it is shown what happens when these two personalities clash in real life and how much devastating and horrific it can be.

3. DECEPTION AND FIDELITY

Fincher beautifully displayed the movie’s central themes, which are deception, manipulation, and fidelity. The film explores the theme of deception in many ways. Firstly, it highlights the deceptive nature of the media and public opinion regarding Amy’s unprecedented disappearance. The press almost declared Nick a murderer just by speculation without even comprehending the whole matter and acquiring no concrete evidence, making him seem like an abusive husband who is capable of killing her.

Secondly, manipulation out of deception is explored in Amy’s character. Amy is the mastermind of manipulation who has gone to great lengths to deceive her husband, media, police, and former partner. She fooled everyone with all those fabricated evidence. Moreover, deception is evident in Nick’s character, too, when he tries to suppress having an affair with a younger woman and presents himself to be a loving husband, even when he is not loyal to his wife.

4. SOCIETAL GENDER ROLES AND NORMS

Society upholds certain female and male gender roles that people are expected to adhere to. Often these gender roles are gruesome and inflict personality changes in a human being. We pretend to be someone we’re not in order to get accepted in society. Amy and Nick were no different than us. They tried to fit themselves in frames which are not their shapes. Amy repeatedly attempted to be the perfect girl, whereas Nick strived to be a caring and faithful husband. Amy’s claim about being a ‘cool girl’ pretty much speaks about societal expectations of her. The movie challenges traditional gender stereotypes and questions the notion that men and women should behave in certain ways.

5. MEDIA AND PUBLIC OPINION

Fincher showed how media and public opinion play a vital role in semi-renowned people’s lives. For Amy, the whole ‘cool girl’ image of pretending to be cool with everything, even though she might actually be quite resentful and miserable, is draining. Amy’s character is complex and multi-layered, so apparently, the media painting her character as a victim is very unidimensional.

Rosamund Pike as Amy Gunne in 'Gone Girl'

Furthermore, the media plays a significant role in the story, as it fuels public suspicion and shapes the investigation into Amy’s disappearance.

6. VIOLENCE AND VENGEANCE

Amy was not a ‘cool girl.’ Her character was deceptive, manipulative, vindictive, and violent. Amy’s faking her own disappearance and framing Nick for her murder is a way of punishing him for his infidelity and for distorting the marriage. Nick’s deception towards Amy was pathetic, and so was Amy’s pretense of being a ‘cool girl’ for Nick. She then returned to Nick, and they both went along with the marriage where Nick promised to become a better husband. Though he initially wanted to expose Amy, he changed his mind because of her pregnancy. However, it is clear that the dynamic between the two has shifted for the worse, and Nick is now at the mercy of Amy’s manipulations.

Gone Girl (2014) Movie Ending Explained

The ending of the movie Gone Girl (2014) follows the same general trajectory as the book, with some minor changes. The film ends with Nick and Amy getting back together while choosing to live in Missouri. However, it is suggested that their relationship is still toxic and manipulative, as they both know the truth about each other and see their inner raw demonic self. Despite this, they still chose to live with each other.

The final scenes of the movie show Amy lying next to Nick, with her hand resting over his chest. The camera then zooms in on her face, and we perceive her thoughts as she contemplates the situation. Her facial expression shows that she has now fully manipulated Nick and regained control over their relationship. The film’s final shot is a close-up of Amy’s face, with a subtle smirk on her lips, manifesting that this is what she wanted, and she is content with the passive outcome.

Fincher didn’t really show where Amy and Nick go from there. Does Amy still continue living with Nick? Was Nick forgiven for his infidelity? Did Amy’s pregnancy really change them for soon-to-be parents? Audiences are given to speculating anything afterward from this movie. This film provides an open scope of thought for people. But in my opinion, there are certain possibilities that could’ve happened between them. Either they became a better individual because Amy was on the verge of pregnancy, or it could be they have finally forgiven and made peace with each other for their misdeeds and decided to part ways for the better.

Overall, the movie’s ending is intended to keep it unsettling and open to interpretation. It raises questions about toxic relationships, marriage, deception, manipulation, and the lengths people will go to retain their sense of control.

Gone Girl (2014) Movie Links – IMDb , Rotten Tomatoes Gone Girl (2014) Movie Cast – Ben Affleck, Rosamund Pike, Neil Patrick Harris

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20 Things You Didn't Know About Gone Girl

Looking back on David Fincher's twisted soap opera.

It's been almost six years since the director's previous effort, Gone Girl, hit cinemas.

Adapted from Gillian Flynn's New York Times Best Seller - with a script also penned by the author, no less - Gone Girl revolves around Nick Dunne (Ben Affleck), a man who becomes the prime suspect in his wife Amy's (Rosamund Pike) disappearance.

Criminally nominated for just a single Oscar - for Rosamund Pike's magnetic performance - Gone Girl may not be Fincher's best movie, but it's certainly a measured, technically astonishing adaptation of a script which, in lesser hands, could've easily come across as too silly for its own good.

Despite its brain-breaking plot twists and divergences into unapologetic soap opera territory, it's grounded at all times by Fincher's patient direction and the immaculate performances of its killer cast.

And like basically every Fincher movie, its conception is at least as interesting as the film itself, with Fincher and his cast providing a ton of fascinating stories about Gone Girl's production...

20. David Fincher Shot 500 Hours Of Material

David Fincher is noted for his perfectionism as a filmmaker, and during principal photography on Gone Girl that extended to filming a staggering 500 hours of footage over the course of the 100-day shoot.

That's an average of five hours of footage shot per day, an extremely high amount for a major Hollywood movie given the enormous complexities involved with lighting and blocking a scene before filming can begin.

Given the film's 149 minute runtime, that's a shooting ratio of roughly 200:1 for footage which actually ended up in the final film.

For comparison's sake, Fincher's own The Social Network saw the director film 324 hours, so this is quite an extreme uptick even for him.

According to producer (and Fincher's wife) Ceán Chaffin, he filmed an average of 50 takes per scene. Wow.

Stay at home dad who spends as much time teaching his kids the merits of Martin Scorsese as possible (against the missus' wishes). General video game, TV and film nut. Occasional sports fan. Full time loon.

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	...	hair stylist: Mr. Perry
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Production Management

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Second Unit Director or Assistant Director

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Art Department

	...	set foreman
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	...	gang boss
	...	foreman
	...	assistant art director
	...	lead man
	...	set dresser (as Dave Bush)
	...	lead graphic designer
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	...	local construction foreman: Missouri
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	...	set dresser (as Ty Jones Jr.)
	...	propmaker
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	...	art department coordinator
	...	set dresser
	...	on-set dresser
	...	property department production assistant
	...	propmaker
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	...	assistant set decorator
	...	set designer
	...	paint supervisor
	...	painter
	...	construction accountant
	...	set dresser
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	...	production assistant
	...	construction general foreman
	...	art department coordinator: Missouri
	...	drapery foreman
	...	set decoration coordinator
	...	head greens person
	...	concept artist
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	...	lead plasterer
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	...	assistant art director
	...	set designer
	...	carpenter: Missouri
	...	gangboss
	...	book covers illustrator
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	...	labor foreman
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Sound Department

	...	foley editor
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Special Effects by

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Visual Effects by

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	...	pipeline technical director: artemple-hollywood
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	...	visual effects designer: Artemple - Hollywood
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Stunts

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	...	stunt double: Rosamund Pike (as Jessica Harbeck)

Camera and Electrical Department

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	...	grip rigger
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	...	electrician
	...	visual effects cinematographer
	...	gaffer: additional photography
	...	fixtures technician
	...	gaffer: additional vfx photography
	...	lighting technician: additional vfx photography
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	...	rigging grip (as Michael Anthony Travers)
	...	dolly grip: "b" camera
	...	specialty lighting technology and design
	...	lighting technician
	...	electrician
	...	camera supporter
	...	libra head operator
	...	best boy electric: additional vfx photography (uncredited)

Casting Department

	...	casting assistant
	...	adr voice casting (as Patty Majorczak-Connolly)
	...	location casting associate
	...	background casting: Missouri
	...	location casting
	...	extras casting: Los Angeles
	...	location casting
	...	extras casting: New York
	...	casting assistant
	...	extras casting: Los Angeles
	...	casting assistant
	...	local casting assistant
	...	adr voice casting

Costume and Wardrobe Department

	...	costumer: Mr. Perry (as Sylvia Akuchie)
	...	key costumer (as Carrie Arakaki)
	...	costume supervisor
	...	set costumer
	...	costume department
	...	costumer
	...	set costumer
	...	costume assistant (as Cat Goeke)
	...	set costumer
	...	costumer (as Monica Haynes-Nino)
	...	key set costumer
	...	set costumer
	...	costume maker
	...	costumer
	...	costumer
	...	head ager/dyer (as Chandra Moore-Telfer)
	...	set costumer
	...	costume assistant (uncredited)

Editorial Department

	...	assistant editor
	...	digital intermediate editor
	...	post-production coordinator
	...	post production engineer
	...	digital intermediate executive management
	...	digital intermediate producer
	...	digital intermediate finishing artist
	...	digital intermediate producer
	...	marketing editor
	...	tv promo editor
	...	assistant editor
	...	marketing editor
	...	Adobe Premiere Pro editorial suport team
	...	editor: digital post-production
	...	Adobe Premiere Pro editorial suport team
	...	Adobe Premiere Pro editorial suport team
	...	Adobe Premiere Pro editorial suport team
	...	on-line editor
	...	digital intermediate assist
	...	Adobe Premiere Pro editorial suport team
	...	editorial consultant
	...	assistant editor
	...	assistant editor
	...	assistant editor
	...	Adobe Premiere Pro editorial suport team
	...	digital intermediate assistant
	...	post-production assistant
	...	Adobe Premiere Pro editorial suport team
	...	digital intermediate colorist
	...	Adobe Premiere Pro editorial suport team

Location Management

	...	key assistant location manager: Los Angeles
	...	key assistant location manager: Los Angeles
	...	location scout: New York
	...	location manager
	...	location manager: Missouri
	...	key assistant location manager
	...	location assistant
	...	assistant location manager: Los Angeles
	...	location manager
	...	supervising location manager
	...	location assistant
	...	key assistant location manager
	...	additional location manager (uncredited)

Music Department

	...	musician
	...	musician: cello
	...	musician: viola
	...	musician
	...	musician: percussion
	...	trailer music
	...	musician
	...	musician: violin
	...	musician: clarinet
	...	musician: piano
	...	musician: bass
	...	trailer music
	...	musician: trumpet
	...	musician: violin
	...	musician: viola
	...	music production executive
	...	engineer
	...	music
	...	orchestrator
	...	vocal contractor: Vocalist
	...	musician: violin
	...	singer
	...	orchestra contractor
	...	music editor
	...	music supervisor: piano virtuoso
	...	music business & legal affairs (uncredited)
	...	music executive (uncredited)
	...	music clearance (uncredited)
	...	music executive (uncredited)
	...	music preparation (uncredited)
	...	synthesizer programmer: score (uncredited)

Transportation Department

	...	driver
	...	driver: Missouri
	...	driver: for Ben Affleck
	...	driver
	...	driver
	...	driver
	...	local transportation captain
	...	driver
	...	transportation captain
	...	picture car coordinator (as Robert E. Dingle) / transportation coordinator (as Robert E. Dingle)
	...	transportation
	...	driver: Missouri
	...	driver
	...	production driver
	...	production van driver
	...	driver
	...	generator operator
	...	driver
	...	driver
	...	dot compliance
	...	driver: honeywagon
	...	driver: Missouri
	...	transportation dispatcher
	...	driver
	...	picture car mechanic
	...	driver
	...	driver
	...	insert car driver
	...	provided equipment
	...	picture car coordinator
	...	driver

Additional Crew

	...	executive assistant: Mr. Affleck
	...	principal eyewear
	...	production secretary
	...	production secretary
	...	first assistant accountant
	...	office production assistant (as Bjorn Arnesen)
	...	production assistant
	...	production coordinator
	...	key second assistant accountant
	...	set medic
	...	french translator
	...	voice actor
	...	production assistant
	...	adr voice
	...	stand-in: Mr. Affleck
	...	production assistant
	...	set production assistant
	...	assistant: Mr. Milchan
	...	executive assistant: Mr. Harris
	...	assistant
	...	production it
	...	assistant production coordinator
	...	production assistant
	...	production controller
	...	production assistant
	...	assistant: Ms. Pike
	...	production assistant
	...	additional set production assistant
	...	key medic
	...	set staff assistant
	...	medical consultant (as Dr. Rob Huizenga)
	...	production coordinator: missouri
	...	set medic
	...	assistant: Mr. Perry
	...	craft service
	...	production assistant
	...	trainer: Ms. Pike
	...	office production assistant: Missouri
	...	production assistant
	...	production assistant
	...	medic
	...	set production assistant
	...	assistant production coordinator
	...	set production assistant
	...	second assistant accountant
	...	technical advisor: rape kit
	...	assistant: David Fincher
	...	additional set production assistant
	...	dialect coach: Ms. Pike
	...	adr loop group
	...	cook
	...	stand-in
	...	payroll accountant
	...	production assistant
	...	production assistant
	...	evp: publicity, 20th Century Fox
	...	production assistant: Los Angeles
	...	production assistant
	...	set production assistant (as Johnny Radcliff)
	...	production secretary
	...	second assistant accountant
	...	digital support staff
	...	stand-in
	...	additional production assistant
	...	green screen animal producer
	...	second assistant accountant
	...	fbi consultant
	...	set production assistant
	...	assistant: Ms. Chaffin
	...	office production assistant: missouri
	...	office production assistant
	...	set decoration buyer: Missouri
	...	Adobe Premiere Pro editorial support: audio engineer
	...	executive assistant: Mr. Affleck
	...	assistant payroll accountant
	...	set production assistant
	...	additional set production assistant
	...	additional set production assistant (as Austin Wood)
	...	home video producer
	...	additional set production assistant
	...	production assistant
	...	digital distribution (uncredited)
	...	executive vice president of physical production: New Regency (uncredited)
	...	production assistant (uncredited)
	...	stand-in (uncredited)

Thanks

	...	the producers wish to thank
	...	the producers wish to thank (as Lieutenant John Davis)
	...	special thanks / the producers wish to thank
	...	the producers wish to thank
	...	the producers wish to thank
	...	acknowledgement
	...	the producers wish to thank
	...	the producers wish to thank (as Mayor Harry Rediger)
	...	the producers wish to thank

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The 10 Best Thriller Movies Like 'Gone Girl,' Ranked

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When Gillian Flynn published her third novel, Gone Girl , back in 2012, it became an instant bestseller. It was perhaps little surprise that a film adaptation of the book was immediately commissioned. However, what has been quite intriguing is the manner in which the David Fincher film has become such an enduring classic that has now remained relevant for over a decade as it follows Nick Dunne ( Ben Affleck ) as he struggles to respond to his wife's disappearance when it begins to look as though he may be responsible for it.

Defined by Rosamund Pike 's scintillating yet terrifying performance as Amy Dunne, Gone Girl 's fanfare only grows greater as more time passes by. As such, audience interest in finding films that can deliver a similarly pulsating experience has only grown over time as well. Ranging from taut mystery thrillers to astounding depictions of female ambition and desire in commanding lead performances, these 10 thrillers are perfect for lovers of Gone Girl who want to experience the thrills and intensity all over again .

Not available

10 'Vertigo' (1958)

Directed by alfred hitchcock.

Scottie, played by Jimmy Stewart, kneeling next to a sitting Judy, played by Kim Novak, with Judy wearing a matching gray jacket and skirt, in Vertigo

Any fan of Gone Girl who hasn’t seen any or many of Alfred Hitchcock ’s films would do well to seek out the director’s filmography. The Master of Suspense always had a fantastic talent for incorporating complex and challenging romances into the core of his stories, with Vertigo quite possibly his greatest example of just that. It follows a traumatized former detective who is hired by a friend to investigate his wife’s daily activities. The investigation takes a dark turn when the wife commits suicide and Scottie ( James Stewart ) becomes obsessed with the memory of her.

While the film was initially released to only a mixed critical reception, it has since come to be viewed as a defining classic of thriller cinema as well as a triumphant highlight of Hitchcock’s career. The tumultuous tale of love, obsession, and desire presents a maddening and overwhelming viewing experience that lingers on the mind long after the film is finished.

9 'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo' (2011)

Directed by david fincher.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is the psychological crime thriller that David Fincher directed immediately before he made Gone Girl , so it stands to reason that the pulsating adaptation of Stieg Larsson 's famous novel bares some similarities, especially in tone and character, to his adaptation of Gillian Flynn's book. A gripping neo-noir mystery, it follows investigative journalist Mikael Blomkvist ( Daniel Craig ) as he is hired to look into a woman from a wealthy family who went missing 40 years earlier. He collaborates with expert hacker Lisbeth Salander ( Rooney Mara ), a woman with her own complicated and traumatic past.

Visually stunning while being incredibly atmospheric and intense, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo represents the captivating intrigue of mystery thrillers at their absolute best . Its 158-minute runtime is spent wisely, presenting a picture that is always engrossing even when it journeys to some disturbing places. Viewers who enjoy the adaptation would also be advised to watch the 2009 Swedish film that starred Noomi Rapace .

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (2011)

8 'tell no one' (2006), directed by guillaume canet.

Kristin Scott Thomas and François Cluzet in Tell No One (2006)

An underrated film from France that has been overlooked despite its success and critical praise, Tell No One (or Ne le dis à personne in French) takes inspiration from Harlan Coben 's novel of the same name. It follows Dr. Alexandre Beck ( François Cluzet ), a widower still grieving the murder of his wife at the hands of a serial killer from eight years prior. His efforts to put his life back together are destroyed when the bodies of two girls are discovered near his home with evidence implicating him. On the same day, Beck receives an email that indicates his wife may not be dead, leading him to go on the run to find answers.

The whole premise where Beck is framed while searching desperately for answers about what actually happened to his wife is obviously very similar to the viewing experience Gone Girl presents, which makes it an underrated gem perfect for lovers of the Fincher thriller . Tell No One also has the same ability to snatch at the viewers' suspicions and emotions with a gripping and provocative tale, one that is both heart-pounding and heartbreaking.

Tell No One (2006)

7 'thoroughbreds' (2018), directed by corey finlay.

Anya Taylor-Joy as Lily sitting wrapped in a towel in the film Thoroughbreds.

Featuring Anya Taylor-Joy and Olivia Cooke as the two actresses were on the cusp of bursting into superstardom, Thoroughbreds is both a black comedy and an enthralling psychological thriller that thrives on the talents of its cast. Lily (Taylor-Joy) and Amanda (Cooke) are childhood friends who reconnect as teenagers despite having grown apart and taken different routes in life. With the emotionless Amanda harboring violent tendencies, and Lily living under the thumb of her abusive stepfather, the two girls hatch a scheme that will appease both their needs.

In addition to the plot rich with suspense, schemes, and violence, Thoroughbreds also finds a likeness to Gone Girl through its focus on two sublimely wicked female characters who are brilliantly realized through performances as captivating as they are unnerving. It meshes murderous mayhem, dark humor, and even teenage angst together to present a tonally complex yet arresting tale of female rage and revenge.

Thoroughbreds

Rent on Apple TV

6 'Side Effects' (2013)

Directed by steven soderbergh.

An underrated gem of 2010s thrillers, Side Effects sees director Steven Soderbergh in fine form as he delivers a taut, contemplative and restrained psychological mystery that revolves around corrupt doctors, pharmaceutical conspiracies, and a deadly vendetta. Rooney Mara stars as Emily Taylor, a young married woman suffering from depression who is prescribed a new drug by her psychiatrist, Dr. Jonathan Banks ( Jude Law ). The violent consequences of the prescription lead to a shocking death and a desperate hunt for accountability.

One of the most engrossing aspects of the film is how it goes from being focused firmly on Emily to shifting to Dr. Banks' perspective, giving heightened stakes to both characters as underlying motivations and twisted truths are gradually unveiled. Running at a relatively tight 105 minutes, Side Effects is a tight and complex thriller that, once it has its hooks in viewers, refuses to let go until the very end . Buoyed by strong performances from all involved and a smart screenplay, it is exactly the brand of thriller lovers of Gone Girl will appreciate.

Side Effects

5 'the prestige' (2006), directed by christopher nolan.

Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman as Borden and Angier talking on the street in The Prestige.

Everyone who loves a twisty and winding character-driven thriller should be familiar with The Prestige , Christopher Nolan ’s engrossing period thriller that focuses on the feud between two rival magicians in the 1890s. The fierce rivalry grows increasingly volatile and deadly as they each try to sabotage the other’s stunts while trying to conjure up the perfect act, a pursuit that leads them to the new age of technology and showmanship.

Embracing the filmmaker’s trademark love of ambitious and time-jumping narratives, it explores both Robert Angier ( Hugh Jackman ) and Alfred Borden’s ( Christian Bale ) side of the story in engrossing detail while still keeping the audience on their toes with unexpected turns throughout. A brilliant tale of obsession that is so intricate that multiple viewings may be required to comprehend the film in its entirety, The Prestige represents Nolan at his very best .

The Prestige

4 'gone baby gone' (2007), directed by ben affleck.

Casey Affleck and Michelle Monaghan in Gone Baby Gone

In addition to having a similar title as Gone Girl , Gone Baby Gone also has a commonality with the Fincher film on account of it being a defining highlight of Ben Affleck's career. Released in 2007, Gone Baby Gone is Affleck's directorial debut. He received wide praise for how he handled the sensitive subject matter, depicted the characters in a sympathetic and earnest way, and for how he was able to bring Dennis Lehane 's crime novel to the screen with great social urgency and a scintillating sense of suspense.

The story follows Boston private detectives Patrick Kenzie ( Casey Affleck ) and Angie Gennaro ( Michelle Monaghan ) as they investigate the disappearance of a four-year-old girl while clashing with local law enforcement and criminal gangs. A contemplative deep dive into working class Boston that revels in exploring the complex depth of its characters, Gone Baby Gone excels as a fiercely intense crime thriller that refuses to pull its punches .

Gone Baby Gone

3 'to die for' (1995), directed by gus van sant.

Earl (Kurtwood Smith), Carol (Holland Taylor), and Suzanne Stone (Nicole Kidman) wearing black and standing in a cemetery while Suzanne holds a dog in To Die For

Another female-centric thriller that deals with notions of manipulation and ambition, To Die For trades out the suspenseful intensity of Gone Girl and replaces it with a quirky neo-noir aesthetic and a baseline of black comedy. Nicole Kidman stars as Suzanne Stone, a weather reporter at a local news station who aspires to be a major anchor on a national network. However, her grand desires are anchored by the malaise of her loving but content husband, so she seduces a lovestruck teenager to kill him for her.

In addition to having a similar premise to Gone Girl in terms of a driven woman resorting to extreme measures when her husband becomes less than she would desire, To Die For also shares a peculiar look at the idolization of celebrity status that runs rampant in American society. Twisted, funny, and strangely endearing with its quaint characteristics, To Die For coasts on a stellar performance from Kidman to be a brilliant thriller-comedy that is infectiously enjoyable from start to finish.

2 'Dark Places' (2015)

Directed by gilles paquet-brenner.

While it has its fair share of flaws which contributed to it receiving immense critical derision, Dark Places should be of interest to fans of Gone Girl as it is adapted from another of Gillian Flynn's novels . Libby Day ( Charlize Theron ) lives as the sole-survivor of her family's massacre, a crime that was supposedly carried out be her brother. However, when a team of amateur investigators take an interest in her story, Libby begins re-examining the traumatic day from her childhood and starts doubting her brother's guilt.

With a supporting cast that includes Nicholas Hoult , Chloë Grace Moretz , Tye Sheridan , Christina Hendricks , and Corey Stoll , Dark Places is a well performed thriller that, despite being based on a bestselling novel, sadly struggles to forge its own identity as it stumbles over its twists. However, it is worth watching for fans of the genre and of Flynn's stories if only to gain a greater appreciation of just how spectacular a job David Fincher did at bringing Gone Girl to the screen. Dark Places is set to be adapted as a HBO miniseries in the near future as well.

Dark Places

1 'rebecca' (1940).

Laurence Olivier looking at Joan Fontaine in Rebecca (1940)

Romance and psychological thrills have rarely entwined with the impact and heft of Alfred Hitchcock’s first American film, and his only Best Picture winner , Rebecca . Joan Fontaine stars as a young and impressionable woman who marries a mysterious widower and takes up residence in his mansion. However, her love for her husband is quickly tested when she discovers she will always live in the shadow of his dead wife, Rebecca. The situation grows even more complicated when the housekeeper refuses to accept the new Mrs. de Winter as the mistress of the house.

A film that is decades ahead of its time, Rebecca flaunts an atmosphere that can only be described as haunting while exploring a rich, Gothic tale of palpable suspense and twisted romantic drama. Lovers of Gone Girl will appreciate the unwinding relationship at the core of the movie as well as the engrossing sense of taboo intrigue that permeates throughout the eerie tale.

NEXT: The Best Psychological Thrillers of All Time, Ranked

Dark Places (2015)

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Gone Girl (film)
Gone Girl is a 2014 American psychological thriller directed by David Fincher and written by Gillian Flynn, based on her 2012 novel of the same name.It stars Ben Affleck, Rosamund Pike, Neil Patrick Harris, Tyler Perry, and Carrie Coon in her film debut. In the film, Nick Dunne (Affleck) becomes the prime suspect in the sudden disappearance of his wife, Amy (Pike) in Missouri.
Gone Girl movie review & film summary (2014)
7 min read. Gone Girl. "Gone Girl" is art and entertainment, a thriller and an issue, and an eerily assured audience picture. It is also a film that shifts emphasis and perspective so many times that you may feel as though you're watching five short movies strung together, each morphing into the next. At first, "Gone Girl" seems to ...
Gone Girl (2014)
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. On the occasion of his fifth wedding anniversary, Nick Dunne reports that his wife, Amy, has gone missing. Under pressure from the police and a growing media frenzy, Nick's ...
Gone Girl (2014)
Gone Girl: Directed by David Fincher. With Ben Affleck, Rosamund Pike, Neil Patrick Harris, Tyler Perry. 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.
Gone Girl (2014 Film) Summary
The Gone Girl (2014 Film) Community Note includes chapter-by-chapter summary and analysis, character list, theme list, historical context, author biography and quizzes written by community members like you. Best summary PDF, themes, and quotes. More books than SparkNotes. Study Guides; Q & A;
Gone Girl (2014)
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. Gillian Flynn. Novel, Screenplay. David Fincher. Director.
Gone Girl Movie Review And Film Summary(2014)
Gone Girl grossed $167.8 million in the U.S. and Canada and $201.6 million in other territories for a worldwide total of $369.3 million, against a production budget of $61 million. Calculating in all expenses, Deadline Hollywood estimated that the film made a profit of $129.99 million, making it one of the most profitable films of 2014.
Gone Girl
In Carthage, Mo., former New York-based writer Nick Dunne and his glamorous wife Amy present a portrait of a blissful marriage to the public; when Amy goes missing on the couple's fifth wedding ...
Gone Girl Movie Review: Ben Affleck, David Fincher Star
In Gone Girl, marriage is a prison, and each spouse is both jailer and inmate — perhaps even executioner, too. Soon after the wedding, Nick and Amy lost their jobs. When he learned from his twin ...
45 Facts about the movie Gone Girl
Key Takeaways: "Gone Girl" is a thrilling movie that explores marriage, deceit, and media manipulation. It features a captivating storyline, powerful performances, and unexpected plot twists, keeping viewers on the edge of their seats. The film's success led to renewed interest in psychological thrillers and increased book sales for the ...
Gone Girl Complete Timeline (In Chronological Order)
The complex nonlinear narrative of Gone Girl jumps back and forth across its story timeline, gradually revealing past events that affect the action in the present. Gone Girl opens with Nick Dunne (Ben Affleck) returning home on his fifth wedding anniversary to find that his wife, Amy (Rosamund Pike), is missing. This opening sequence instantly launches the local police - and the audience ...
Gone Girl (2014 Film) Background
David Fincher 's Gone Girl (2014) is based on the novel of the same name by Gillian Flynn (who also wrote the films screenplay). The film chronicles the story of Amy (played masterfully by Rosamund Pike) and Nick Dunne (played by Ben Affleck) after Amy goes missing one day. As the police and family race to figure out what happened to Amy, Nick ...
Official Discussion: Gone Girl [SPOILERS] : r/movies
Discussion. Synopsis: On the occasion of his fifth wedding anniversary, Nick Dunne reports that his beautiful wife, Amy, has gone missing. Under pressure from the police and a growing media frenzy, Nick's portrait of a blissful union begins to crumble. Soon his lies, deceits and strange behavior have everyone asking the same dark question: Did ...
Gone Girl Movie Plot Ending, Explained
Synopsis. 'Gone Girl' is a story of the trials and tribulations that a couple, Nick and Amy Dunne go through in their young marriage. With all things breezy at first, life eventually hits hard and things spiral out of control as problems in their marriage and individual selves surface. With money problems at the helm and a failing marriage ...
Gone Girl movie review & film summary (2014)
The most intriguing thing about "Gone Girl" is how droll it is. For long stretches, Fincher's gliding widescreen camerawork, immaculate compositions and sickly, desaturated colors fuse with Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross's creepy-optimistic synthesized score to create a perverse big-screen version of one of those TV comedies built around a pathetically unobservant lump of a husband and his ...
The Ending Of Gone Girl Explained
But "Gone Girl" isn't your typical thriller: Nobody is truly without guilt. From Amy to Nick, from Margo to TV host Ellen Abbott, they all have some complicity in the film's worst crimes. Nick ...
Gone Girl (2014 Film) Study Guide: Analysis
Gone Girl is a film that centers around Nick and Amy's marriage. How they lost one another, began to use each other, betray one another in so many ways that Amy decides her only course of action is to stage her abduction and what seems like her murder. She does this in order to get back at Nick for what she describes as having already murdered ...
Gone Girl (2014) Movie Ending and Themes Explained
Gone Girl (2014) Movie Themes Analysed 1. TOXIC RELATIONSHIPS AND MARRIAGE. Amy is a brilliant young woman who is shown to possess perfect-girl qualities, although it is all just a facade. Nick's response was subpar, too; he started having an affair with Andie despite having a wife. Amy always tried to rebuild herself for Nick, groomed ...
20 Things You Didn't Know About Gone Girl
20. David Fincher Shot 500 Hours Of Material. Fox. David Fincher is noted for his perfectionism as a filmmaker, and during principal photography on Gone Girl that extended to filming a staggering ...
Gone Girl (novel)
Gone Girl is a 2012 crime thriller novel by American writer Gillian Flynn.It was published by Crown Publishing Group in June 2012. The novel was popular and made the New York Times Best Seller list.The sense of suspense in the novel comes from whether Nick Dunne is responsible for the disappearance of his wife Amy.
Watch Gone Girl
His marriage crumbling, Nick comes home one day to find his wife has vanished. And as the police turn up the heat, shocking truths come to light. Watch trailers & learn more.
Gone Girl (2014)
Gone Girl (2014) cast and crew credits, including actors, actresses, directors, writers and more. Menu. Movies. Release Calendar Top 250 Movies Most Popular Movies Browse Movies by Genre Top Box Office Showtimes & Tickets Movie News India Movie Spotlight. TV Shows.
Gone Girl (2014) Cast and Crew
The Equalizer. Prisoners. The Imitation Game. Lucy. Boyhood. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. John Wick. Shutter Island. Meet the talented cast and crew behind 'Gone Girl' on Moviefone.
10 Movies Like 'Gone Girl,' Ranked
An underrated film from France that has been overlooked despite its success and critical praise, Tell No One (or Ne le dis à personne in French) takes inspiration from Harlan Coben's novel of the ...

Gone Girl Movie Review And Film Summary(2014)

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Gone Girl Movie Plot

Gone Girl Movie Review

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Key Takeaways:

Gone Girl is a psychological thriller film released in 2014.

The film stars Ben Affleck as Nick Dunne and Rosamund Pike as Amy Dunne.

Gone Girl explores themes of marriage, deceit, and media manipulation.

The film received critical acclaim and was a commercial success.

Gone Girl was nominated for numerous awards, including an Academy Award for Rosamund Pike’s performance.

The screenplay for Gone Girl was written by Gillian Flynn herself.

The movie’s soundtrack was composed by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross.

Gone Girl features a nonlinear narrative structure.

The film’s cinematography, done by Jeff Cronenweth, is visually stunning.

Gone Girl tackles issues of perception and media sensationalism.

The movie explores the dark side of relationships and the breakdown of trust.

Gone Girl features a talented ensemble cast, including Neil Patrick Harris, Tyler Perry, and Carrie Coon.

The film has several shocking plot twists that keep viewers on the edge of their seats.

Gone Girl earned a reputation for its surprising and unconventional storyline.

The movie’s marketing campaign played on the mystery and intrigue surrounding the story.

Gone Girl examines the power dynamics within relationships.

The film received praise for its strong female characters.

Gone Girl explores themes of revenge and the lengths one will go to maintain control.

The movie’s screenplay deviates slightly from the novel, bringing its own unique twists.

The film’s editing, done by Kirk Baxter, is seamless and effectively builds tension.

Gone Girl examines the impact of the media on high-profile cases.

The movie’s gripping storyline and compelling performances leave a lasting impact on viewers.

Gone Girl features a memorable supporting cast, including Kim Dickens and Patrick Fugit.

The film’s production design, led by Donald Graham Burt, effectively portrays the contrasting worlds of Nick and Amy.

Gone Girl explores the concept of identity and how it can be shaped and manipulated.

The movie’s screenplay delves into the darkest aspects of human behavior.

Gone Girl was a box office success, exceeding expectations.

The film’s costume design, done by Trish Summerville, effectively reflects the characters’ personalities and moods.

Gone Girl received praise for its complex and intricate plot.

The movie’s success led to renewed interest and popularity in psychological thrillers.

Gone Girl explores the concept of perception versus reality.

The film’s sound design creates an immersive experience for viewers.

Gone Girl received critical acclaim for its screenplay, direction, and performances.

The movie’s final act delivers a shocking and satisfying conclusion.

Gone Girl was a game-changer in terms of its narrative structure and storytelling techniques.

The film’s success led to increased book sales for Gillian Flynn’s novel.

Gone Girl explores themes of manipulation and control within relationships.

The movie’s title, Gone Girl, holds significant meaning within the context of the story.

Gone Girl is known for its powerful and intense performances.

The film’s screenplay is filled with sharp and clever dialogue.

Gone Girl examines the role of media and public perception in shaping narratives.

The movie’s marketing campaign created a sense of mystery and intrigue.

Gone Girl’s success cemented David Fincher’s reputation as a master of suspense.

The film’s pacing keeps viewers engaged, never allowing a dull moment.

Gone Girl is a thought-provoking film that stays with you long after you’ve watched it.

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Screen Rant

"The Blood Starts To Drain From Your Head": Top Gun: Maverick Ending's G-Force Assessed By Real Fighter Pilot

January 8, 2005: Nick Dunne & Amy Elliott Meet

February 24, 2007: Nick & Amy Get Engaged

Summer 2010: Nick & Amy Move To Missouri

January 2011: Nick Begins An Affair With His Student

October 1, 2011: Amy Starts To Fear Nick

Early 2012: Amy Prepares For Her Disappearance

July 5, 2012: Amy Disappears

July 6-11, 2012: Nick Begins An Attempt To Clear His Name

July 24-30, 2012: Amy Stays With Desi Collings & Ultimately Kills Him

August 4, 2012: Amy Comes Home