Gone Girl

Whether or not you've read Gillian Flynn's bestseller, David Fincher's adaptation remains unsettling viewing. The story revolves around the hunt for missing Amy Dunne (Rosamund Pike), the perfect blonde wife of perfect hunk Nick Dunne (Ben Affleck). When Amy disappears under suspicious circumstances, Nick appears distraught but is soon the prime suspect. Sympathies and suspicions undergo a constant process of realignment as a twisted, he-said/she-said tale unfolds and Amy's diary entries reveal some home truths about their marriage. Or do they? Affleck oozes easy prom king charm, but his good looks mask a sense of resentment that could be lethal. Pike is exceptional as the chilly beauty whose froideur hides myriad secrets. There's the added bonus of Neil Patrick Harris as an old flame of Amy's, who comes across like a sinister version of Niles Crane from Frasier, while Tyler Perry is incredibly charismatic as the outspoken go-to lawyer for wife-murderers. The film lacks the virtuoso visuals of some of Fincher's other work, but there are still a couple of shocking scenes that wouldn't be out of place in Se7en. And although it doesn't have a lot of good things to say about the state of modern relationships, it does provide an absorbing mystery, in which anyone, including your own husband or wife, could be - and probably is - a monster.