Spoiler Warning for those who have neither read the book nor seen the movie, but still want to.
If Amy Dunne (Rosamund Pike), from Gillian Flynn's novel Gone Girl and the movie with the same name, is actually a villain, is up for debate. She is, however, such an interesting and outstanding character that she more than deserves the mention. In her book Gillian Flynn plays with well established thriller tropes to create something different. The female murder victim of the abusive husband is not actually dead. Not only that, but she meticulously staged the whole murder as well the history of abuse. Even though both the novel and the movie start out with the husband's, Nick's, perspective, the audience questions his innocence as he begins to look more and more guilty. When it is revealed that Amy staged her kidnapping and invented most of the incriminating diary entries, the game changes. Amy morphs from 'the victim' to an 'angel of vengeance' who wants to punish Nick for his wrongdoings. As the audience uncovers more about her past it becomes clear that this isn't a new development, that she has been like this long before she ever met Nick. Amy had always punished wrongdoings of friends, lovers and even strangers with carefully planned extreme means. Amy rejects notions of femininity while outwardly conforming to them. She is an imperfect character that suffers under the pressure to be perfect always and forever.
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