The Ben Affleck renaissance has been ongoing for a decade now, and it’s marked an incredible turnaround for an actor that was fighting to remain relevant after a string of critical and commercial duds, while he was much more likely to be found on the front pages of the tabloids than the trades.
The 49 year-old is now back at the top of the Hollywood pile, and all it took was another Academy Award win, a trio of acclaimed self-directed movies that included Best Picture winner Argo and a well-received performance as Batman to reinvent and rehabilitate both his career and reputation. Sounds easy, right?
Right in the middle of Affleck’s hot streak, he teamed up with the meticulous David Fincher for twisting psychological thriller Gone Girl, and the result was what’s arguably a career-best performance. As the plot unfolds, it’s hard to get a handle on the star’s Nick Dunne, with the narrative deliberately making you question whether he’s guilty, innocent or something else entirely.
Gone Girl was a massive success, earning almost $370 million at the box office and landing four Golden Globe nominations including Best Picture and Best Director, while Rosamund Pike deservedly made the shortlist for Best Actress at the Academy Awards. The literary adaptation has been experiencing a resurgence on Netflix, where it’s remained in the platform’s Top 20 most-watched list all week.