5 reasons to see the most anticipated movie of the year.

Gone Girl hits cinemas today and this is why you should see it this weekend.

Easily the most anticipated movie of the year has been released and let me tell you, it’s good. So very good.

Gone Girl, directed by David Fincher and based on the best-selling novel of the same name by Gillian Flynn, revolves around Nick Dunne and his wife, Amy Elliott Dunne. Nick and Amy are having marriage troubles that seem to reach boiling point when Amy suddenly disappears on the morning of their fifth wedding anniversary. The plot is gripping from the opening scene to the very last second.

Gone Girl was the biggest novel of 2013 and now the film is on the Oscars path for 2015.

Warning: Before you see the movie, you need to know one thing. The film is very graphic and deals with domestic violence. The graphic scenes are necessary to tell the story, but it is difficult for viewers to watch. Keep this in mind when you are sitting in the cinema and eating your popcorn.

For fans of the book, the wait is finally over and the film does not disappoint. For those who aren’t familiar with the Gone Girl phenomenon, let this list be the motivation you need to hire a babysitter and take a trip to your local cinema this weekend.

5. The movie will make you think. 

If you were captivated by the novel, you can expect the movie to be equally haunting. This film is still in the forefront of my mind a day after I saw the preview screening, and it's not going anywhere for awhile.

If you're used to watching Frozen with your kids over and over (and over) again, Gone Girl is a refreshing, intelligent, honest, brilliant film to wake up your mind.

4. Ben Affleck is brilliant in his portrayal of Nick Dunne. 

Ben Affleck's ears must be ringing - fans and critics are saying Gone Girl is the film to secure him a Best Actor nomination at next year's Academy Awards. And if it does, it is well deserved. No characters in this film, bar female detective Rhonda Boney, are likeable. Ben brings Nick Dunne to life in the most honest way - he plays a jerk very well.

You want to hate him, and you do, but you also feel sorry for him. The acting is some of Ben's best work. And for those with a bit of crush on him, he does appear completely naked late into the movie. Obviously this is not one to bring the kids to.

3. It is very loyal to the book. 

One of the concerns with movies made from books is that the film will never be as good as the original version. This is absolutely not the case with Gone Girl. Gone Girl is a very true-to-the-book adaptation that artfully subtracts the unnecessary scenes and brings together the strongest points of the novel in a way that leaves the audience reeling long after the lights come up.

It was widely reported the movie would have a different ending from the book as Gillian Flynn rewrote the third act so fans of the novel would still be surprised at the ending. But the ending stays very true to the novel, with just a slight variation in one of the final scenes.

2. There is no protagonist in the movie. 

It's an intriguing concept and one that Flynn pulled off so well in the novel. There are no characters you like. Nick Dunne is a terrible person and an even worse husband, Amy Elliott Dunne has a lot of issues of her own, Margo Dunne (Nick's sister) is portrayed as a weak support for her brother, Amy's parents are annoying characters who seem to be more concerned with profiting from their daughter's dissappearance than actually finding her, and the police (aside from Rhonda Boney) are more than a bit incompetent.

The concept is one that not many movies do and is one of the more refreshing developments to come from the film.

It's refreshing for viewers to walk out and say, "I can't relate to any of the characters." And trust me, you don't want to.

1. It is the perfect mix of genres - crime, drama, thriller. 

The movie has every element you need. If you're a crime lover, it encapsulates all the perfect elements sure to keep you on the edge of your seat;  lazy detectives,  a missing person's case, sensationalist journalism who rush to paint Nick as a killer, and a violent scene sure to haunt you for at least a week afterwards.

For drama lovers, Nick and Amy have the perfect dysfunctional relationship. It becomes a game of 'he said, she said' that will split viewers done the middle. I've read the book at least five times and I still don't know what is true. It's a fascinating insight into the private life of a couple who have the usual marriage problems - money, jealously, career troubles - with a despicable twist.

For fans of scary movies - this one is a thriller. Certain scenes will make you jump, others will have you closing your eyes in fear. For fans of the book, don't worry: knowing the plot does not take away from the thrilling elements that work so well on screen.

Gone Girl hits cinemas today. Go see it this weekend - you will not be disappointed. 

Click through our gallery below of the Gone Girl cast. 

Have you read Gone Girl? What did you think? 

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