Gone Girl (2014)

The last half hour of Gone Girl swerves so hard that the rails file their own missing persons report. That’s the only thing keeping it from a 9. Everything before it is Fincher at his meanest and funniest, a mystery that slowly turns into a satire of marriage and cable news. Casting Ben Affleck as a husband whose one awkward smile turns the whole country against him is either genius or a prank, and it works. Rosamund Pike is ice cold and electric, and her voiceover messes with your trust in ways I won’t spoil. Tyler Perry is a blast as a lawyer who handles TV interviews like a sport. Carrie Coon, as Nick’s twin, is the only person in Missouri you’d trust with a house key. It’s 149 minutes and it never drags. An 8.7 because it gets nastier and funnier with every rewatch. $23 says you look at your partner a little differently over breakfast tomorrow.

What works: Rosamund Pike’s chilling performance, Fincher’s cold control, and a sharp satire of how TV news picks a villain.

What doesn’t: The final stretch piles on twists until it nearly turns into a soap opera, and a couple of the plot mechanics strain belief.

Who it’s for: Anyone who likes a thriller with a mean sense of humor, and couples who aren’t afraid of a long talk afterward.