Gone Baby Gone (2008)
Director: Ben Affleck
Writer: Ben Affleck, Aaron Stockard
Starring: Casey Affleck, Ed Harris, Michael Monaghan, Morgan Freeman, Amy Ryan
Language: English
Runtime: 120 Minutes approx.
Age Rating: 15
Genre: Drama, Thriller
Reviewed by Ross Miller
It seems that Ben Affleck has spent his film career on the wrong side of the camera. All that time he was delivering often mediocre, sometimes just plain awful, performances he could have been behind the camera with the director’s cap on. He, in his directorial debut, has produced something taut, affecting, and often downright thrilling with a stellar cast (and performances) to boot.
Based on the novel by Dennis Lehane, the author of Mystic River, Gone Baby Gone follows two private investigators who are hired to search for a missing four-year old girl and in doing so it has an affect on them both personally and professionally.
Gone Baby Gone may not have the emotional gut punch that it could have had, and that Mystic River did have, but it’s nevertheless an affecting film, sometimes subtle while at others fairly brash; it sways from both extremes throughout and catches an almost perfect balance of the two. It’s not only an emotional drama but it’s also a fine police procedural; information heavy at points and you’ll need to keep your wits about you when the inevitable twists and turns crop up. It’s here where one of the film’s primary strengths lies – you think you’ve got a hold of what’s going on, you think you get the bigger picture but just as soon as you think you’re savvy the film pulls the rug from under you and sets you on a path to work things out almost all over again. It’s got a creatively complex plot to rival the most memorable films in that area and an outcome which will leave you mulling it over for days afterwards.
The film feels mature in nature, not only in its tackling of difficult and sensitive subjects but just in the overall tone of it. It has so many layers that get peeled away as the film progresses and it leaves you guessing until it’s absolutely necessary to give the pay off. And in its ending it’s both satisfying but at the same time it’s not happy or comfortable in its totality. There are parts, yes, which a lot of people will take joy from but overall it leaves some questions unanswered and dilemmas left unsolved. This is what sets Gone Baby Gone apart from other similar films – it doesn’t tie everything up with a big bow by film’s end, it presents complex moral dilemmas for both the characters and the audience to deal with and it leaves you affected and thinking about it even after you’ve long finished watching it.
After his nothing short of stunning performance in last year’s The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (which, by the way, was also the best film of last year) and now his also brilliant performance in this, it’s very clear that Casey Affleck is one to watch. Mark my words, and I’m sure many other people's too, that you will be seeing a lot more of quality performances from this guy. His subtle yet intense mannerisms are a wonder and a joy to watch, I can only wonder where the hell he has been hiding all these years.
Added to this great lead performance we have a fantastic supporting cast with people like Morgan Freeman, Ed Harris, and Michelle Monaghan; all are just excellent here. It’s so relieving to see that there can be an impressive cast on paper and yet working on a worthy film and giving great performances without the big paychecks being the only thing on their minds. And I would be remiss if I didn't mention the wonderful, Oscar-nominated supporting performance of Amy Ryan who plays the mother of the missing little girl. She gives one of those convictional and "loud" performances but at the same time not coming off as being over-the-top and/or annoying.
Actor-turned-director Ben Affleck has delivered an impressive debut film. It contains brilliant performances, a host of thrilling and very tense scenes and it offers something for us to chew on whilst and even after the film has finished. It’s not perfect, as Affleck’s inexperience as a director does shine through from time to time as far as how certain things are revealed and timing and the like, but it certainly shines amongst other films of it’s type.
