Gone Baby Gone

Directed by: Ben Affleck
Starring: Casey Affleck, Michelle Monaghan, Morgan Freeman, Ed Harris, John Ashton, Amy Ryan
Running Time: 1h 54min

From the person who brought you Gigli, Armageddon, and Pearl Harbour, comes a surprisingly good film, that has more emotional impact that those three aforementioned films combined.

Gone Baby Gone takes place in Affleck's hometown of Boston, and he allows the setting to breathe it's way into the film, situating the plot of a missing child in a neighbourhood that protects each other's secrets. Ben's younger brother Casey and Monaghan play young private investigators for hire, who try to assist the police in areas where police aren't welcome. This allows for some action sequences that remain suspenseful and tense, because you know the cops won't be barging in seconds later to save their bacon.

Casey's teenage boy appearance lends itself well to the character, as he is often misjudged or prejudged based on his innocence. He plays his role well, as he come across believable when he has to play tough, yet remains sensitive in his search for the young missing girl. Freeman and Harris continue to show why they are the best supporting actors money can buy, giving their characters every shade of grey needed to be full, rounded out characters, straight out of a novel.

Indeed, it is Gone Baby Gone's source material that really drives this film. From the same author that Mystic River was based on (one of Clint Eastwood's finer films), also set in Boston, Affleck has chosen wisely to adapt this for his directorial debut. It has a lot going for it, and all one can hope for is to not screw it up. It is a pleasant surprise to see how well Affleck captures the moral dilemma at the centre of the book, when he could very easily made a sensationalistic film about a missing child, necessitating chase scene after ransom call after parental meltdown.

Rather, Affleck turns up the emotional dial, allowing us to feel the characters' pain, angst, passion, fear and loneliness. Using Casey as the conduit, we are immersed in the story on a very personal, emotional level. One could argue that Affleck could not have made this film a few years ago, before he became a father. At this stage in his life, he truly understands the horrible crux which hovers over this film like a darkening seaside cloud. He pushes aside all the media portrayals of missing children, and gets to the heart of a parent's most horrendous fear, while asking us to ponder, is there something worse?

Dark, disturbing, yet never contrived, Gone Baby Gone is a stunningly good film, succeeding on several levels. A great cast giving their all for a new director, presenting a frighteningly perplexing story with a lot of love for the content and the setting. You will not be disappointed.

Grade: B+