Gone Baby Gone is Ben Affleck s directorial debut, adapted by Affleck from the novel by Dennis Lehane "Mystic River". It is an intense look inside an ongoing investigation about the mysterious disappearance of a little girl. As two young private detectives (Casey Affleck and Michelle Monaghan) hired to take the case get closer to finding her, they discover that nothing is as it seems and more dangerous than they ever thought possible. Also starring Academy Award® winners Morgan Freeman (Million Dollar Baby) and Ed Harris (Pollack).
For his initial offering as director, Ben Affleck returns to the site of his first Oscar: South Boston. (He and Matt Damon shared the award for Good Will Hunting.) Hot on the heels of his moving turn in Hollywoodland, Affleck's Dennis Lehane adaptation marks one of the more seamless actor-to-filmmaker transitions in recent years. Ostensibly, a procedural about the search for a missing child, class and corruption emerge as his primary concerns. First off, there's low-rent private eye Patrick Kenzie (Casey Affleck, equally adept in The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford). Then there's the girl's drug mule mother, Helene (Amy Ryan, Before the Devil Knows You're Dead). She and Patrick grew up in Dorchester, but he took a different path, setting up an agency with his girlfriend, Angie (Michelle Monaghan). Helene's aunt, Bea (Amy Madigan), hires the duo to augment the investigation, and they team up with Captain Doyle (Morgan Freeman) and Detective Bressant (Madigan's husband, Ed Harris). The authorities don't appreciate the interference, but Patrick knows how to get the local populace talking, and he soon finds there's more to the story than anyone could possibly imagine. Hard-hitting, but never soft-headed, the evocative end result proves Affleck has a flair for this directing thing and that his little brother can carry a major motion picture with aplomb. Gone Baby Gone belongs on the list of great Boston crime dramas, along with The Departed and Mystic River, Clint Eastwood's take on Lehane. --Kathleen C. Fennessy
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.0 / 5.0
Good story line, too many fowl words:
I liked the story of this movie and I thought the acting was good, however, the overuse of the "f" word detracted from it. If someone cannot be more creative with words than that, something is wrong. And if people really talk like this then they need an education. Using the "f" word to describe EVERYTHING shows a lack of creativity. The problem is in this day and age most movies are full of profanity. Using such language should not become mainstream or the norm. Actors, writers, directors, etc. should be... more info
Gone Baby Gone:
The movie sucks. How could a person living in this day and age not see the future for this little girl. He should have had some balls, and left her with the Captain and his wife.
buy the book:
Movie is very good.
But the book is much, much better.
Casey Affleck and Michelle Monoghan ressemble Lehane's characters very well.
But Casey's voice!!!!!
It becomes irritant in the end hearing his high tone.
Did the guy had an accident in his youth????
Sorry, Ben and my sympathies, Casey.....
Don't Read the Book First:
Let's get one thing out of the way first: if profanity in movies bothers you, don't watch this one. According to the director's commentary, there are over 200 swear words in the movie, to the point where it's almost a distraction early on. I'm not sure what the point of that was, since the book doesn't have nearly that many, and books don't have to go before rating boards. This is definitely not one for the whole family to watch. Which brings me to my main problem with the movie: I've read the book.... more info
