Gone Baby Gone

"I will hate you for doing this, and I don't want to."

There have been a lot of solid movies set in Boston in recent years, but Gone Baby Gone tops even The Departed and Mystic River, as good as they both were. What starts off as a story about a missing child evolves into one of the most thought provoking and genuinely compelling movies that I've seen.

Ben Affleck has real talent as a director, and did an excellent job of maintaining the authenticity of both the story of the Dennis Lehane novel and the neighborhood that it's set in. Casey Affleck, Michelle Monaghan, Ed Harris, Morgan Freeman, and Amy Ryan were all perfectly cast, and give stellar performances.

Gone Baby Gone is just one of those movies that it's hard to find a flaw with. It's expertly made, sticks with you, and doesn't offer any easy answers. Highly recommended.

It is now largely forgotten that Ben Affleck's big break was not as an actor in but as a writer of "Good Will Hunting". His career has never lived up to the promise of his performance in that film (a quiet and subtle display) and has been overshadowed by the success of his friend and co-Oscar-winner, Matt Damon. With "Gone Baby Gone", Affleck moves back behind the camera, directing and writing, whilst his brother Casey, who really impressed in "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford", takes the lead.

The film is a gritty thriller at first, with a quite masterful opening which is engrossing and effective. The sense of location is evident from the start and both Afflecks demonstrate their talents. Casey is an interesting screen presence, and Ben is an unfussy director with an eye for location and images.

The film is served well be the stellar cast. Ed Harris is very good, as is Michelle Monaghan and the Oscar nominated Amy Ryan is fantastic, whilst Morgan Freeman is Morgan Freeman, which is nice. They do make the film easy to watch, even though the subject matter, focussing on child abduction, is difficult to deal with.

However, although the subject matter is treated well throughout most of the film, its fatal flaw is that it lets itself go in the third act. The plot twists and turns three times toward the end to lose nearly all credibility and then loses any that it had left by landing on a truly unbelievable conclusion. Its focus on character is not lost, but it is still a disappointment to see such a tightly played drama unwind at the end.

Nevertheless, this film has much promise. Its subject matter should be a consideration for anyone who is thinking of seeing this, but it is an intelligent and interesting film which is worth watching, mainly because of what it might be the precursor of.

When I went into the theater to see Gone Baby Gone, Casey Affleck was not what I pictured when I read Dennis Lehane's Patrick Kenzie novels. But he won me over and will now forever be Kenzie as far as I'm concerned.

Gone Baby Gone is a tough and gritty movie about a child abduction and the lives it destroys. You can see the end coming a little too early in the movie, but it's still fascinating watching Kenzie slog through a lot of awful stuff before you get there. Ben Affleck has proved that he can direct a movie with the best of them. There was nothing slack or boring for the entire running time, and the ending will give you something to argue about over dinner after watching the movie.

The best detective movie I've seen in a while.

Ben Affleck's impressive directorial debut features some remarkably naturalistic performances, a genuine sense of locale, and an atmosphere of despair and hopelessness that becomes a major antagonist. An honestly downbeat film, it portrays a mode of existence where nothing is black or white, and it is that gray area that the film explores so effectively even if I find the story from Dennis Leheane's novel to be a bit far-fetched and convoluted. More than The Departed, Mystic River, and Peter Yates' The Friends of Eddie Coyle, Gone, Baby, Gone understands the inter-relationship among cops, criminals, and a neighborhood as they search for a missing child. Though the boyish Casey Affleck is arguably miscast as Patrick, a character who was more mature in the novel, his performance cannot be faulted and by the end he has won us over. The last scene is particularly resonant. Though well-known actors such as Ed Harris and Morgan Freeman are expectedly good, it is the performances of an unknown supporting cast that gives the film a disturbing authenticity. And Amy Ryan as the child's mother gives a trenchant performance. Director Affleck maintains an admirable tone of objectivity and compassion throughout, and he has made a film that is worthy of your time. Go!Baby!Go!

"Gone Baby, Gone" is one of the best films of the year. It is being compared to "Mystic River" and "The Departed" because it takes place in Boston, but I actually liked it better than either of those films.

The opening credits start with the camera showing close ups of people's faces. The close ups are a recurring theme throughout the movie. It's because this is not just a film about a child kidnapping. It is a film about people and that is what lifts this film above so many others.

Director Ben Affleck shows confidence and style in his first film. After this, he does not need to perform in any more films. He is a much better writer and director than he is an actor.

All the performances in the film are superb. Casey Affleck has to carry the film and he does a great job. He is a stoic, deadpan, detective. But unlike the Noir detectives of the past, he is not a loner. He has a lot of friends and he has his girlfriend played by Michelle Monaghan help with the investigation. He uses his connections to find out things the police cannot.

Beyond that, the less you know the better.

If you like crime dramas that also work as character studies, you should run out and see "Gone Baby, Gone."