Every once in a while, a novel becomes the kind of ubiquitous bestseller that seems to permeate the public consciousness in a big way. Sometimes, this is due to its broad genre appeal (The Hunger Games) or the fact that the writing falls into that ever-popular so-bad-it’s-it’s-good category (looking at you, Fifty Shades of Grey). In the case of Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl, it was the complex plot-twisty narrative that captured the attention of readers everywhere. So, naturally that existing fanbase was cautiously intrigued when a film version by acclaimed director David Fincher (Seven, Fight Club) was announced.

Adapting a popular novel is always a dicey proposition. Stay too faithful to the source material, and readers who know every twist and turn are bored with the end result. Change too much, and they complain that something crucial from the novel was lost in translation. This is an especially tenuous balance when it comes to murder mysteries like Gone Girl, where every subplot, every clue contributes in some small part to the larger story.

In this case, the big question of Gone Girl surrounds the mysterious disappearance (and possible murder) of Amy Elliott Dunne (Rosamund Pike). When she is suddenly missing on the morning of her fifth wedding anniversary, her husband Nick (Ben Affleck) ends up trapped at the center of an investigation that could end up with sending him to prison for his own wife’s murder. But did he do it?

In lesser hands, Gone Girl could have devolved into a generic Hollywood thriller or, even worse, an elaborate parody of the kind of paint-by-numbers crime stories viewers can catch Law & Order reruns. However, with master of suspense Fincher at the helm, the film crackles in every frame. After over two decades of delivering consistently taut thrillers – ranging from serial killer manhunts like Seven and Zodiac to less violent (but equally bold) releases like The Social Network and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Fincher has proven his ability to handle both the perverse and emotionally understated with skill, verve and style. Gone Girl ends up being the perfect marriage of both.

Ostensibly a murder mystery, the film is really about the deconstruction of a marriage, and Fincher – along with screenwriter Flynn, adapting her own work – are wise to keep the sprawling narrative grounded in the relationship that Nick and Amy shared prior to her disappearance, as shown in flashbacks. The material is dark as night, and yet even so, Fincher and Flynn manage to find moments of levity to keep audiences on their toes throughout the film’s runtime. It’s the fastest 149 minutes moviegoers will spend all year, to be sure.

Affleck – who sent shockwaves through the entertainment world last year when it was announced that he would portray the Caped Crusader in director Zack Snyder’s Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice – has been riding a comeback wave for the past few years now, and his performance as Nick should go a long way in cementing his respect as an actor, just as Argo brought a new level of prestige to his directing career. Likewise, Tyler Perry (sans his Madea get-up), Carrie Coon (The Leftovers) and Kim Dickens (Sons of Anarchy, Lost) turn in solid supporting work, though stars like Neil Patrick Harris are criminally underutilized.

However, it is Pike who steals the show. The role of Amy is the kind that any actress would dream of snagging, and Pike delivers in spades, creating a vulnerable, powerful and intimidating presence every second she’s on screen. Given the film’s many plot twists, it’s difficult to fully explicate the details on Pike’s performance in Gone Girl, but in a film that is almost certain to receive a bevy of awards this upcoming season, Pike is the most likely to snag a ton of nominations, if not Oscar gold, for her star-making performance. It’s worthy recognition, since Pike has been doing memorable work on film for the past decade in films like An Education and Joe Wright’s Pride and Prejudice.

Some fans of Flynn’s novel may complain that Gone Girl is lacking some of the subplots, side characters and wry observations of the source material, but the overall narrative captures all the broad strokes as well as the essence and message behind Nick and Amy’s marriage. It’s among Fincher’s best work and features two of the best lead performances all year. Plus, there’s enough richness and atmosphere in the storytelling (thanks, in no small part, to the score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross) to warrant praise on a number of levels.

Thanks to its cynical tone and bleak aesthetic, Gone Girl may not be the most uplifting film of 2014 (is any Fincher film really?), but it is without question one of the best.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Gone Girl stars Ben Affleck, Rosamund Pike, Neil Patrick Harris, Tyler Perry, Carrie Coon, Kim Dickens, Patrick Fugit and Missi Pyle. It is directed by David Fincher and is now in theaters.