Gone Girl Review: 10 Reasons It's Awesome

Since Gone Girl premiered at the New York Film Festival last weekend and began screening for critics, the buzz-o-meter has been going off the charts, with David Fincher's 10th film currently sitting at a strong 85% on Rotten Tomatoes, with an average score of 8.2/10. The critical chorus has certainly been enough for many to begin singing its Oscar praises already, and though those claims might be well overblown, there's little denying that, now that Gone Girl is rolling out advanced screenings for the public ahead of its October 3rd wide release, positive word of mouth is only likely to spread. Gone Girl is, however, not David Fincher's strongest work, and it's really nowhere near either: it simply lacks a narrative as watertight and compelling as Se7en, Fight Club, Zodiac or The Social Network, but as a slice of finely-tuned pulp, it's hard to imagine any other director wringing as much suspense and thrills out of Gillian Flynn's trashy page-turner. It's still without question one of the strongest Hollywood pictures of the year to date, and though that claim will likely change with the impending awards onslaught, it's a film broached comfortably between mass appeal and something a whole lot smarter and more provocative. Here are 10 reasons why Gone Girl is awesome, and don't worry, there's no major spoilers here for anything beyond what the trailers have already given away.