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'Gone Girl' Is First-Rate, If Not Totally Believable

Ben Affleck's new movie, Gone Girl, is two-and-a-half hours long, but has plot enough for two-and-a-half miniseries. And wonder of Hollywood wonders, it all hangs together, albeit in a rather incredible series of stories. It relies on coincidences and does not obsess about believability, but it's certainly not boring or predictable. The two people I discussed it with and I all rated it three-and-a-half stars or a maximum four, and I shared with one of them a desire to read the book.

Which still maybe leaves it short of masterpiece status. There are details that strain one's suspension of disbelief. All of us had some trouble with a muddy soundtrack. And none of us were totally happy with the ending, though I don't think any ending could have satisfied us entirely.

We disagreed as to whether Affleck's character was supposed to be sympathetic-- I see him as lacking both principles and brains, and obsessed with sex in a way Hollywood always finds acceptable. But these things don't make him less interesting as what passes for a hero. We all agreed that Rosamund Pike, the "gone girl," was riveting throughout. And none of us faulted any of the acting, not even Tyler Perry's as a very clever lawyer. I liked seeing Kim Dickens of cable's "Deadwood" as an idealistic though very procedural detective-- though her glamour days are over.

None of us could think of any movie with so many twists and turns of plot, and none were bothered by incredibility. And there is nothing to offend anybody but those very sensitive to language.

All in all, Gone Girl should satisfy just about everybody who doesn't dote on explosions and special effects. I may see it again.