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Most helpful customer reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Has its flaws, and some big ones, too, but still achieves something near greatness,
By
This review is from: Gone Baby Gone (DVD)
Ben Affleck's directorial debut, based on a novel by Dennis Lehane, who also wrote Mystic River was pretty good to me. Affleck's direction is more than adequate. I'm sure he's aping Clint Eastwood's film version of Mystic River much of the time, and there's one scene that's way too reminiscent of Se7en, but he shows a lot of skill. He's great at capturing his hometown of Boston and the people who live there.The story revolves around the investigation of a missing girl. Morgan Freeman and Ed Harris are two of the major investigators for the police. The aunt of the missing girl hires Casey Affleck and his girlfriend, played by Michelle Monaghan, to do private investigation on the side, because they can maybe find some secrets that the girl's mother (Amy Ryan) might be hiding. It's a gripping mystery story, and it arrives at one quite satisfying twist. But then there's another twist. The second big twist is completely brainless, and then the previously excellent film starts to fall. This isn't unlike Mystic River, where, when we finally found out why Tim Robbins has been acting so strange all the time, I just had to slap my forehead. Gone Baby Gone is able to pull itself up a bit from its head-slapping plot revelation in its final moments, but I was still left feeling cheated. I also have to complain that Monaghan, as lovely as she is, adds very little. Would Affleck's character really put his girlfriend in such dangerous situations all the time? I'm sort of glad we're spared the whole cliché chatter where one of the two lovers fears for their significant other's safety, but bringing the beautiful woman into a powerful drug dealer's den sounds like a hostage situation waiting to happen. Casey Affleck did deliver his second fine performance that year, though it isn't as good as his Robert Ford, which I think might some day be considered iconic. Credit to Affleck's direction that the film can still be considered good after some should-be fatal flaws so I say watch it and see it for yourself.
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
True grit,
By Amanda Richards (Georgetown, Guyana) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER) (HALL OF FAME) (REAL NAME)
This review is from: Gone Baby Gone (DVD)
This movie pulls no punches in revealing the dark sides of its characters, and the result is a gritty, compelling crime drama, with a surprise around every corner.Casey Affleck (brother of Ben a.k.a. the Director of the movie, a.k.a. half of Bennifer 2) plays Patrick Kenzie, a low budget private investigator who specializes in finding missing people. His partner is his live-in girlfriend Angie, and the two are hired by the aunt of a missing girl to supplement the efforts of the police force in locating her. Kenzie soon meets Capt. Doyle (Morgan Freeman) and winds up working with officers Remy and Nick (Ed Harris and John Ashton). During the investigation, Kenzie learns that the girl's mother Helene (convincingly played by Amy Ryan) is no angel, and that she and her boyfriend may have inadvertently started a chain reaction leading to the abduction of her daughter by their greedy and stupid actions. You'll think that the movie is over at least twice before it actually ends, and it keeps the viewer on edge just knowing that there's even more stuff about to happen. This movie deals with unpleasant topics such as kidnapping, drug abuse, pedophilia, child abuse and more, but Ben Affleck handles these unappealing subjects with such panache and realism that you'll have a bitter taste in your mouth for a long time after watching this movie. Words of Wisdom (WOW): 1. Don't ever try to steal from your neighborhood drug dealer 2. If your boyfriend's name is Skinny Ray, chances are you're not heading for a stable long term relationship 3. Trust nobody 4. What feels right may not always be right 5. The right thing can be the hardest thing to do 6. Make sure you know where your children are 7. Although it may be wise to skip movies starring Ben Affleck, you shouldn't miss the ones directed by said Ben Affleck Amanda Richards
5.0 out of 5 stars
One of the most intelligent Hollywood mysteries of recent years,
By
This review is from: Gone Baby Gone (DVD)
Wonderfully ambiguous, uncompromised, morally complex story of young private eye involved with a local kidnapping case.Terrific performances from Casey Affleck, Amy Ryan, Ed Harris, Morgan Freeman et al. Also note worthy is the film's great sense of place. The world of the film feels real, and not like a tinsel-town projection of a working class Boston neighborhood. Ben Affleck brings surprising subtlety and depth to his directorial debut, and ends up making one of the most intelligent Hollywood mysteries in recent years. There are minor flaws; the last 1/3 isn't quite as strong in terms of plot - a few twists are hard to swallow. And the `girlfriend' role is written a little thin for a film where most characters are so filled out. But the film leaves us shaken and thinking. How many recent films can you say that about?
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