Gone Baby, Gone (Ben Affleck, 2007): USA

Based on the novel by Dennis Lehane, Gone Baby Gone marks Ben Affleck’s directorial debut. After watching the two-hour crime drama at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival, I was able to mutter a single word, “Heavy”. A film that revolves around moral ambiguity, filled with complex plot twists, Gone Baby Gone is an incredibly entertaining film that will have you questioning, “What is right?”

Starring Ben’s younger brother, Casey Affleck plays Patrick Kenzie, the baby-faced private detective is hired to help track down a missing four-year-old girl. His performance is solid enough to hold the film together, while he did seem to lack the needed ruggedness to pull of the role. Taking place in Boston, the film is filled with an incredibly powerful and vulgar script that seems only natural coming from the mouths of the local Bostonians. Comparable with the dialogue of The Departed, it seems that Boston is the most foul-mouthed place in America. Affleck does an incredible job of capturing the exclusiveness of if some of the urban neighborhoods in Boston. By exclusiveness I am referring to the way the neighborhoods stick together and become incredibly suspicious of any outsider. He recreates an identical reality to set his mystery in.

Kenzie is hired by four-year old Amanda’s Aunt (Amy Madigan) and Uncle (Titus Welliver), to discover information about their missing niece because of his known relations with neighborhood thugs. An incredibly convincing Amy Ryan giving the performance of her life plays Amanda’s mother Helen. She couldn’t appear to be more of a reckless drug addict, with no real concern over her daughter’s disappearance. Kenzie becomes involved in a complex plot with unrecognizable twists. He is forced to make decisions in which there is no clear right or wrong answer.

Another noteworthy performance would be that belonging to Ed Harris. Playing detective Remi Bressant, Harris sells the hard ass detective and his complicated background quite well.

With the topic of this film being the abduction and sexual abuse of children, it isn’t exactly for the easily offended or weak stomached. It is this vein that the film derives its relentless intensity and sense of urgency. Affleck is able to address these difficult topics with the care and understanding as any professional writer/director should. Overall, the acting is not only solid but also impressive. Gone Baby, Gone offers the unique dark and moral ambiguous view that Mystic River does, although it might not necessarily be as a quality of a film. Still, anyone who enjoyed Mystic River should definitely see this film.