Anatomy of a failed marriage

WAR is hell and so - according to the cynics anyway - is marriage. But while confrontation, violence and bloodshed are standard procedure with the former, the latter seems to be only slightly less vicious. Gone Girl, a dark and devious look at the breakdown of a marriage, is a war of the sexes - fought by a couple doomed to live happily never after.

Director David Fincher (Seven, 1995, Zodiac, 2007, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, 2011) has long shown an ability to delve deep into the mind of a psychopath, and he displays a similar deft touch when tasked with dissecting a relationship.

Working from a script by Gillian Flynn and based on her novel of the same name, he presents the viewer with scenes from a failed marriage - starting with blissful courtship through difficult times to sinister (and surprising) conclusion. By the end of this intense, well-structured and emotionally bruising film, we may be moved to ask, "What's love got to do with it?"