Gone Baby Gone
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Movie Reviews of Gone Baby Gone
Movie Review: Powerful, Raw Directorial Debut for Affleck...
Summary: 5 Stars
Ben Affleck, who proved he could write, with the Oscar-winning "Good Will Hunting", and act, with "Hollywoodland", now demonstrates a remarkable flair for directing, as well, in the superb "Gone Baby Gone". This gripping 'lost child' drama, cutting through the layers of lower-income South Boston, displays amazing sensitivity, and Oscar-caliber performances by a top-notch cast.
Adapted from Boston novelist Dennis Lehane's best-selling novel, the film unapologetically views a neighborhood crushed by poverty, alcoholism, and drug addition, yet clinging to a stubborn pride. When a little girl disappears, the child's aunt (Amy Madigan), frustrated by the slow progress of dedicated cop Morgan Freeman, hires local detective team Casey Affleck (Ben's brother) and Michelle Monaghan to join in the search. Despite only cursory assistance from the detectives handling the case (Ed Harris and John Ashton), Affleck discovers a web of lies and deceit, starting with the child's drug addict mother (Oscar-nominated Amy Ryan). As the layers of deception unravel, questions of integrity and 'best interest' are raised, lifting the film far above a simple detective story!
In many ways, Affleck's 'Patrick Kenzie' is a descendant of film detectives of the past, from Sam Spade and Phillip Marlowe, to Lew Harper; a man with a code of honor and unshakable integrity, hidden beneath a flippant exterior, facing a world where morality and truth are colored in shades of gray. It is a nearly impossible situation, and Casey Affleck is extraordinary in the role, capturing the anguish of a man whose virtues might destroy any hope of happiness. Equally good are Monaghan, combining beauty, stability, and humanity, and Harris, whose true character unfolds gradually, in a remarkable acting tour-de-force.
Ben Affleck's compassion and deep devotion to the people of the grittier side of Boston makes him an ideal storyteller, and provides an authenticity to each scene that only a 'native' could provide. This certainly doesn't 'feel' like the first production of a novice filmmaker...
Bravo, Ben!
Movie Review: Another punch in the gut from Boston.
Summary: 5 Stars
Following in the bloody footsteps of "Mystic River" and "The Departed," Ben Affleck's "Gone Baby Gone," yet another gritty crime drama from the mean streets of South Boston, is as briliantly depressing a moral vision as has ever been put on screen. Of the three films mentioned here, "Gone Baby Gone" may be the most sobering, and also quite possibly the best (which is saying something in both cases). Co-writing a screenplay based on a novel by "Mystic River" author Dennis Lehane, Affleck directs his brother Casey in the role of Patrick Kenzie, a private eye born and bred in Southie who takes on the case of a four-year-old girl missing from the neighborhood. Working with his soft-hearted girlfriend-partner, Angie (Michelle Monaghan), Kenzie in his investigation encounters the girl's pathetic junkie mother (Amy Ryan), whose known criminal associates comprise a rogue's gallery of potential suspects; a detective (Ed Harris) transplanted from New Orleans who has definite opinions on a cop's moral imperatives; and the guilt-ridden chief of the missing children's bureau (Morgan Freeman). With a sharpness and confidence belying his status as a first-time director, Affleck leads us through some of the most harrowing sequences in recent cinematic memory to a final moral dilemma which you won't see coming until it smacks you right in the face. Only one of the choices is truly moral, the screenplay tells us, but choosing it means despair and heartbreak for everyone involved. "Gone Baby Gone" is highly unusual for a mainstream movie in its emotional maturity and its dead-serious consideration of basic questions of morality and personal responsibility. Affleck keeps the audience on edge throughout the movie's running time, and the performances he gets from his cast could not be improved in any way. "Gone Baby Gone" is a film that is certain to be remembered at Oscar time, and in the years to come to make the short list of Everyone's Favorite Depressing Movies.Movie Review: A brilliant piece of work
Summary: 5 Stars
Ben Affleck's adaptation of Dennis Lehane's book, Gone Baby Gone, is one of the best movies I have seen in years.
The basic story centers around two local detectives who reside in Dorchester. They are asked to assist the police in their investigation of a missing girl, who was abducted while her alcoholic/drug addict mother was at her friend's place. Reluctantly, they agree to take on the case.
Having read the book, the only complaint I would have is how they portayed Angela Gennaro, played by Michelle Monaghan. In the book, her character has survived a physically abusive marriage and numerous brushes with death. In this film, she is almost like a hood ornament to Casey Affleck's Patrick Kenzie. But the chemistry between the two actors can almost make you forget about that.
The story moves at breakneck pace and keeps you in suspense until the very end. Morgan Freeman and Ed Harris are excellent as two police officers who are deeply involved in the case....and even deeper in secrets. But the true standout is Golden Globe nominee, Amy Ryan, who plays the missing girl's mother. You don't like her from the start, even though you feel tempted to feel some sympathy because of her situation. Ryan plays this crass, ambivalent single parent with such raw power, you truly despise this woman.
The movie reflects on many famiilar themes; tight knit people who will "die with their secrets", things not appearing to be what they seem, the moral dilemma of doing what is right and what is "right", etc. And by the end, you find yourself just as torn as Kenzie about which "right" will prevail.
You should probably read Deniis Lehane's prequels to this film such as "A Drink Before the War", "Darkness, Take My Hand", and "Sacred" before watching this film. It will make you appreciate it even more.
A great film. A truly "do not miss" film.
Movie Review: A WhoDoneIt Puzzle That DELIVERS 5 Stars
I can't for the life of me understand all these BAD reviews!This is a total MINDBLOWER in every sense of the word.
A small girl is kidnapped from her home in the dead of night,and while the whole police force look for her, the girl's Aunt searches out a young private investigater/missing childrens detective, and his girlfriend/partner to help police find her.
Thier search takes them on a maze of smoking mirrors, where nothing is as it seems. On a couple different points in the story, just when you think the crime is solved and the case is closed...it takes you on a fresh new turn.
Thier search leads them through a mass of suspects, from the girls own family, to local gangsters, and through a corrupt police force and back.
I wish I could say more, but I do not want to give away this masterpiece to anyone who has not seen it.
One thing for sure, all the characters and places throughout, can't get any more true-to-life if they tried.It is 100% real life - The good, the bad, and the ugly.And dealing with the subject of missing children, we unfortunately DO see ugly at it's very worst.
I have not felt so many mixed emotions through one movie in a very long time.Worry, fear, anger, hate, grief, sympathy, and downright RAGE...this movie covers just about all the emotions a person can feel.
I read where a reviewer wrote how unbelievable this was. Well, not for me it wasn't. I thought it was totally believable.
Everything is not black and white - good and bad ... That would be a perfect world, and unfortunately, there is no such thing.
I say to those of you who have not seen it, To at least rent it, and give it a chance. I rented it, and am going to buy it tomorrow. It is THAT good !
Also, After seeing this, I look forward to anything else Ben Affleck directs in the future.
Movie Review: A Very Entertaining Film
Summary: 5 Stars
After a string of bad movies (Gigli, anyone?), Ben Affleck needed something to boost his faltering career. He regained a bit of his credibilaty as a good actor with last years Hollywoodland. While not a 'great' film, he gave one of his best performences in years and gained back a lot of respect from me. Now, with his directorial debut with Gone Baby Gone, he has fully recovered from his bad run and is once again a power player in Hollywood.
This film, based on the fourth book of a series, tells of two private detectives who are called in to further investigate the mysterious dissapearence of a young girl, who's mom seems to be more interested in partying then actually taking care of the kid. Assisted by two other cops, they began to delve into the case that soon becomes obvious that there is more going on then they thought.
Now, in essence, the above synopsis is not what the entire film is about. More like, its sort of like the first half of the film, the rest of which I cannot say or risk giving away to much.
Both Affleck brothers do superb jobs, with Ben's refined directing and really tight screenplay and Casey giving yet another great performance after The Assasination of Jesse James. Everyone in the film does great in their roles, Amy Ryan being another standout, who makes the most of her limited screen time. And, though I don't come from Boston, I will give it to Ben for being able to capture as much of the essence of the city as possible.
By far, the best part in the film is the ending. It really just takes you by surprise, how unexpected the end is. And, not only that, but it is very real, which makes it even more gut wrenching to watch.
So either you love or hate Ben Affleck, this is definently a film you have to see.