Cast: Casey Affleck, Michelle Monaghan, Morgan Freeman, Ed Harris, John Ashton, Amy Ryan, Amy Madigan, Titus Welliver, Madeline O'Brien, Edi Gathegi Director: Ben Affleck Genre: Crime/Drama MPAA: rated R for violence, drug content and pervasive language.
Nudity: None Profanity: R equivalent; appox. 130 “F” word, approx. 160 profanities Sex: R equivalent; sexual comments Violence: R equivalent; bloodshed, murder Other: R equivalent; drug content
“I always believed it was the things you don't choose that makes you who you are. Your city, your neighborhood, your family. People here take pride in these things, like it was something they'd accomplished. The bodies around their souls, the cities wrapped around those. I lived on this block my whole life; most of these people have. When your job is to find people who are missing, it helps to know where they started. I find the people who started in the cracks and then fell through. This city can be hard. When I was young, I asked my priest how you could get to heaven and still protect yourself from all the evil in the world. He told me what God said to His children. ‘You are sheep among wolves. Be wise as serpents, yet innocent as doves.’”
Boston private investigator Patrick Kenzie (Casey Affleck) and partner Angie Gennaro (Michelle Monagham) specialize in missing person cases; the minor cases, usually considered insignificant to the Police.When they are asked to investigate the missing case of four-year old Amanda McCready, presumed abducted, they might be a little out of their league.
Beatrice McCready: “Do you know people in the neighborhood who don't talk to the police?” Patrick Kenzie: “Yeah, one or two.” Beatrice McCready: “We wanna hire you to augment the investigation of Amanda.”
Yet do they know they will be entering something so much more than your average missing person case. They soon learn the truth is rarely speaking to them, corruption and crime is more apparent than goodness and morality.
When first being introduced to this film it had occurred this might be a triumph for the Affleck brothers. Yes, Ben Affleck once again decides to go behind the camera (probably where he belongs), go back to writing, and for the first time take position in that director seat. More surprisingly we have the younger Affleck, Casey (“Ocean’s Thirteen”, “The Last Kiss”), the less popular, the one living in his brothers large shadows, who is surprisingly effective in the lead role and delivers the finest performance of his career. While Casey Affleck might be effective much of his success has to be credited to the true star of this one…the story, which executes in that splendid way that requires audience involvement. There are no dull moments in this one.
During the first few moments it was evident this truly was going to be something special. It all begins as an investigation, a crime scene, bad guys and more bad guys.We find not everything is at it seems.As the story unravels we are drawn in, involved as the characters battle with moral decisions.It begins with intrigue and mystery, it concludes with a punch.
In addition to an effective performance by Affleck we have solid performances by Academy Award winner Morgan Freeman (“Million Dollar Baby”), Academy Award nominee Ed Harris (“The Hours”, “Pollock”, “The Truman Show”, “Apollo 13”), and a fabulous, nearly unknown Amy Ryan, portraying the drug addicted, irresponsible mother. Ryan’s disturbing character is likely to initiate nods of disapproval from the audience—I know I felt angry, appalled that such a character could conceive a living breathing child.This the kind of role models children are subued to? Is this the kind of parents who are raising the generations to come? For their sakes I pray not.
“Gone Baby Gone”, an intellectual, intense crime drama from director Ben Affleck, disturbing and gloomy, is one of the year’s finest films. This is the kind of film that will remain with you; I know it will remain with me. This will go down on my top 10 best films of 2007. A powerful, memorable film.
