By Megan Cohen and Breanna Shiflett
Romance novels have always dominated the charts during the summer, with everyone looking for a simple beach read, and while Gillian Flynn’s critically-acclaimed novel Gone Girl focuses in on a married couple, its pages are filled with betrayal, deception, and murder. All of these dark elements become even more chilling in the film adaptation that was released into theaters on October 8th.
Gone Girl follows the story of Nick (played by Ben Affleck in the film) and Amy Dunne (Rosamund Pike), two out-of-work writers who were once madly in love but now can’t even get through the day together. When they move back to Nick’s hometown in order to care for his sick mother, their relationship takes a turn for the worst, with the two hardly even speaking to one another. On the day of their fifth anniversary, Amy suddenly goes missing, with clear signs of a struggle present in their home, and a mysterious envelope marked “Clue One” in her place. The clue is part of the annual anniversary treasure hunt that Amy makes for Nick, but under the circumstances, it makes her husband the prime suspect in her disappearance. With the investigation underway and all signs starting to point to Nick as a suspect, the search for Amy soon makes the whole town realize that no one can be trusted, and makes them all ask the same thing: who took Amy?
While director David Fincher’s newest adaptation (following Fight Club and The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo) did a great job of following the book, there were some differences that set it apart. The book was partially told through Amy’s diary entries, and, in all fairness, it would have been impossible for the film to include them all, but this also meant a lot of details were omitted about her childhood and relationship with Nick. The movie also didn’t delve as deeply into their lives while living in New York before they were forced to move to Minnesota, causing the audience to miss out on many of the loving, early days of their relationship. The film also took the liberty of changing the order of certain events, which may be slightly confusing for fans of the book, but overall made the movie more enjoyable.
In the end, both versions of Gone Girl are extremely thrilling, but the matter of which one is better comes down to individual preference. Those that are seeking a more detailed story with further characterization would favor the book, while the movie can provide a healthy dose of suspense and action for the people that just want the entertainment. Either way, Gone Girl is the must-see (or must-read) thriller of 2014.
