Gone, Baby, Gone Review
by Michael Dequina (themoviereport AT gmail DOT com)October 22nd, 2007
_Gone_Baby_Gone_ (R) *** 1/2 (out of ****)
_Gone_Baby_Gone_ marks the feature
directing debut of Ben Affleck, yet for the big
filmmaking splash of a well-known actor--and
Oscar-winning screenwriter, to boot--Miramax has
not pushed his name in the marketing
campaign. Upon watching the film, the decision
doesn't feel quite so curious, for with this
smart and challenging adaptation of Dennis
Lehane's novel, it's best to let the work speak for itself on its own terms.
From frame one and the delivery of the
first voice-over lines, Affleck shows his skill
by quickly and adeptly establishing a unique
sense of place and atmosphere. Everything in
this view of Boston feels lived-in, from the
homes to the clothing, but not in the run-down
sense but just that, lived-in, and hence
comfortable--an authentic working class milieu
that isn't seen much at all in film. That sense
of comfort also comes through in the relationship
between the two lead characters Patrick Kenzie
(Casey Affleck) and Angie Gennaro (Michelle
Monaghan). Partners as private investigators and
in life, the latter fact is efficiently
communicated through the simple gesture of him
putting his arm around her in their first scene,
with none of the strained and lazy expository
dialogue. The chemistry between the two actors
really helps sell that as theirs is a nice,
natural, understated rapport, again reflecting
the idea of comfort; one can sense the two been
together for a while and are comfortable with
each other in business and personally.
Such a solid relationship is, of course,
built to to be tested, and Patrick and Angie are
faced with a professional challenge when they're
hired to investigate the disappearance of
four-year-old Amanda McCready (Madeline O'Brien)
by the child's aunt (Amy Madigan) and uncle
(Titus Welliver). Such a high-profile case, with
its constant media glare and additional
investigative obstacles such as the
not-always-cooperative police already on the case
and the neglectful lifestyle of the girl's mother
Helene (Amy Ryan), proves to be a task that the
fairly unseasoned pair may not be completely
equipped to handle--particularly Patrick, for
whom the case becomes some sort of personal
mission beyond simply doing his job. In fact,
the title may not so much reflect young Amanda
than Patrick, who becomes more and more lost in
the case--not so much in the mere search for a
solution, but as a means of proving his own
adequacy at his chosen line of work, and perhaps
most importantly as a way to validate his own
strictly held sense of right and wrong.
Despite the plot hook, _Gone_Baby_Gone_
is more of a character and moral study than a
standard thriller, and as such the film is rather
talky and patient. This is not to say that the
mystery is not involving; there are some great
moments of tension, such as a couple of chilling
nighttime set pieces. But patience is rewarded
in the end not so much in the resolution of the
mystery plot or any more conventional narrative
satisfactions; perhaps the pace is detrimental in
slam-bang terms, but it pays off in terms of
developing the more pressing, headier, general
concern of Patrick's psychology and the many
forces and conflicting ideologies in this
way--which, as director Affleck and co-scripter
Aaron Stockard are careful to paint, are just as
valid, if not more so, than those of our hero.
What makes the resulting, complex
questions play out so well and make them so
thought-provoking are the actors. Solid turns
from reliable veterans such as Morgan Freeman (as
an esteemed police captain) and Ed Harris (as a
relentless detective) are expected and indeed
delivered, but the fresher faces are the ones
given the bigger chance to shine, and they make
the most of the opportunity. Monaghan continues
her steady rise with this fairly small but strong
part, shouldering a key emotional monologue with
kick-in-gut emotional precision. Between this
and his rather spectacular work in _The_Assassination_of_Jesse_James_by_the_Coward_Robert_Ford_,
Casey Affleck is having quite the revelatory
season; as in the other film, he excels with a
character who is constantly underestimated but
finds the steely reserves he himself didn't know
were there--in so doing showing how powerful and
dangerous he can be. As excellent as the whole
ensemble is, one performer stands out from the
rest, and that is Ryan; Helene could have easily
been a trashy cliché, and while Ryan doesn't shy
away from her more repellent sides, she
believably plays these all too human qualities in
a way that will most certainly be recognizable to viewers in their real lives.
That overall sense of authenticity makes
the _Gone_Baby_Gone_ cut all the more deep plus
adds greater resonance to its ultimate moral
quandary: if the "right" decision is truly the
"best" decision. Director Affleck doesn't offer
anything approaching easy answers, leaving the
film on a note of ambiguity that is all the more
unsettling for how real it is--for as in life,
after one makes the choice, one must then live
with what the decision entails, for better or for worse.
(c)2007 Michael Dequina
Michael Dequina
[email protected]
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