10 Greatest Movie Villains Of The Last Decade
7. Amy Dunne - Gone Girl
David Fincher’s pitch black thriller boasts a boldly unsympathetic performance from Rosamund Pike as the terrifyingly calculating Amy Dunne. The film generated much debate on its take on thorny gender issues, but at its core was a great villain, a throwback to noir femme fatales and simultaneously something entirely modern.
Gone Girl starts off as a conventional missing woman mystery. Amy and Nick’s (Ben Affleck) seemingly perfect life is torn asunder when she goes missing. Forensics experts find evidence of a struggle in the matrimonial home, and Nick is instantly suspect number one.
From there, the grim tale turns in on itself. Far from the victim, Amy is the perpetrator, having expertly staged her own disappearance with all signs pointing to her disloyal husband as the culprit. Amy delivers her vindictive voiceover dispassionately, but years of rage and resentment slip through her measured tones.
She’s petrifying and vengeful, so thorough and clever and ultimately pretty much successful. We’re given the chance to understand her - the film is more balanced than some would have it - but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t fear her.