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Gone Baby Gone
Miramax Films
Directed By: Ben Affleck
Written By: Ben Affleck, Aaron Stockard
Produced By: Ben Affleck, Sean Bailey, Alan Ladd, Jr., Danton Rissner
Starring: Casey Affleck, Michelle Monaghan, Ed Harris, Morgan Freeman, John Ashton, Amy Ryan, Titus Welliver, Amy Madigan, Slaine, Edi Gathegi
Review Date: October 28, 2007
Alex's Rating: A- Discuss this Review on the Blog
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I almost chuckled at last year's Oscars ceremony when they announced the presenter as "Academy Award-winning screenwriter Ben Affleck."
"He's still living off the glory of his one prestigious film Good Will Hunting, which he co-wrote ten years ago?" I thought to myself. "Too bad he doesn't write anymore and thinks he can act."
It's true that Ben Affleck has become a popular joke amongst talk show hosts and entertainment journalists for appearing in some of the biggest box office flops in the past decade. So I think Ben finally took the hint and decided to get back the screenplay game and try his hand at working behind the camera, writing and directing the new film Gone Baby Gone.
And it's one of the best decisions he has ever made. Gone Baby Gone, a dark crime thriller and moral conundrum, is one of the best films of the year and is gaining Affleck some respect back in the world of cinema.
The film stars the other Affleck - Casey - as Patrick Kenzie, a private detective who has been hired by the family of a young girl who has gone missing. Along with the assistance of his girlfriend Angie Gennaro (Michelle Monaghan) Patrick chases leads through Dorchester, the tough neighborhood in Boston that he grew up in. Thanks to his connections in the town he is able to get angles into the investigation that police chief Jack Doyle (Morgan Freeman) and Detective Remy Bressant (Ed Harris) aren't able to, changing the investigation significantly.
The film essentially has three acts. The first and second act detail Patrick and Angie's investigation into two different missing child cases. The third act returns to the first case as Patrick and the audiences perception of what is real is twisted and we end up with a moral decision that Patrick has to make that will affect his life and relationship as well as the life of the two families involved.
Affleck has some great directorial instincts. He uses a lot of close-up shots with voice over narrative, revealing that the film is a character
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study as much as it is a detective mystery. The dark nature of the film seemed to come all too easy to Affleck as the soundtrack, camera effects, and actors all came together to create something that was sometimes very disturbing, but still deeply human.
I do wish that Ben would have trusted the audience to put the pieces together on their own at the ending as some of the flashbacks to earlier moments in the film got a bit repetitive.
Casey Affleck proved that he deserves to be a lead more often and Michelle Monaghan's performance was moving and impressive, making me wish she got a little more camera time. However, the best performance came from Ed Harris, as Remy Bressant, the brutal detective who shows that he would do anything for justice. You always see the gears ticking in his head as he works to manipulate everything to go his way.
The climax of Gone Baby Gone is where Patrick Kenzie must decide if he is to become the next Remy Bressant, a broken cop who does what he thinks is right, rather than what is legal, or if he wants to keep his morals, losing his girlfriend and taking down some of the city's most respected men in the process.
The whole thing is very well executed by both of the Affleck boys and I hope Ben will realize that he's a better talent behind the camera. I look forward to the next Ben-Casey collaboration as this film will continue to stand out as one of the best of the year.
Bottom Line: Gone Baby Gone is not a typical noir mystery and anybody can get into this film.
Memorable Quote:
"He lied to me. Now I can't think of one reason big enough for him to lie about that's small enough not to matter." -- Patrick Kenzie
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