The Reading Perusals of Rose Summers

So, I'm trying this out as a bit of an experiment.  I usually have a Sunday Night Playlist feature on my mainstay blog dedicated to music reviews, but I decided that since I'm dedicating the time and energy to doing media reviews of all walks, might as well add movie reviews to the playlist feature as well.

So, "Gone Girl" starring Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike will be released this week on DVD, and I had a chance to see it because I bought the film off Google Play using a gift card.  The film also stars Neil Patrick Harris and Tyler Perry, and was directed by David Fincher.

I was very surprised by how well the film version of this novel turned out to be.  I knew what I was in for since reading the book, but for the direction and how the actors brought the script to life, I was impressed.  The mood set by the tone of the film, the lighting, and the film's score was very well done.  I kinda had a good laugh at seeing Ben Affleck because I couldn't think of another actor who could get into Nick Dunne's character as well as he did.  Rosamund Pike played Amy to a tee, and beautifully translated the role from diary entries to the subsequent "twists" (though upon seeing the film, I couldn't help but think that Emily Van Camp probably could've also played Amy in the film as well, just for how my mind kept thinking of "Revenge" in some modes while watching the movie.)

I think Neil Patrick Harris and Tyler Perry captured their respective roles as well too - Harris playing Amy's former, obsessive lover and Perry capturing the role of the lawyer that defends Nick when he's accused of Amy's murder.  For the overarching sequencing of the movie - it did well with the play by play - switching between the present and past in a way that was easy to see how the tension built up over time, to the point of the "WTF?" ending.    I think this was a book that was indeed one that could translate well to film just from reading Flynn's original narrative, but for the sum of its parts - I'd definitely rewatch this adaptation, and would recommend it.

Overall score: 4.5/5 stars