David Fincher, the man behind modern classics Fight Club and The Social Network, has done it again. In his new film, Gone Girl, Fincher creates an atmosphere so dark, so tense, and so chilling that it is impossible to look away. The film opens on what seems to be an average day. Nick Dunne (played by Ben Affleck) is taking out the trash on the morning of his fifth anniversary. He goes about his day, stopping by the bar he runs with his sister, Margo, when he gets a disturbing phone call from a neighbor, who noticed the door of Nick’s home wide open. Nick goes home to check up on things and walks in on what appears to be a crime scene and his wife, Amy (played by Rosamund Pike), missing. As police investigate, the story begins to receive media attention from across the nation, including from Nancy Grace-like Ellen Abbott, who follows the story around the clock and goes where the story goes. Over the days following, as more information comes out, the public begins to turn on Nick. The question becomes: Did Nick Dunne kill his wife?

After that, the less said about the plot, the better.

After a string of critically panned films in the early part of the millenium, Ben Affleck has slowly but surely become one of Hollywood’s most reliable stars and his turn in this film is special because the audience can never really decide if they believe what Nick is telling them. The truly wonderful performance, however, is given by Pike, whose character goes from one extreme to another so quickly and so intensely that it is often hard to believe that it is the same actress. Supporting roles are filled by Missi Pyle, Tyler Perry, who proves that he can do more than portray a fast talking grandmother in his Madea movies, and the always wonderful Neil Patrick Harris.

Beyond acting, the film is beautifully shot, tightly edited, and has a score (composed by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross) that grabs you and won’t let go. Gone Girl is far and away my favorite film of the year thus far and I hope, and expect, to see the team behind it nominated for several Academy Awards. You know a film is well done when it has a running time of just under two and a half hours and yet, it leaves the audience wanting more. Gone Girl does just that.