RSS 2.0Gone Baby Gone (2007)
I am one of many of Ben Affleck’s harshest critics. After witnessing some dismal acting performances by him in Daredevil and Armageddon, I pegged him for just another movie star who got lucky despite his limited acting ability. Along with his tabloid shennanigins with Jennifer Lopez, I felt very comfortable with my negative assessment of the man. But after selling him short for years, I must now eat some humble pie and say that Ben Affleck has talent. Much like Sophia Coppola, Affleck’s talent lies behind the camera rather than in front of it. His directorial debut is a stunning piece of work. Gone Baby Gone isn’t just competently put together, but confidently executed. Although I have questioned Affleck’s talents in the past, I can now say with certainty that this is one of the best films of 2007.
Based on a novel by Dennis Lehane, with an excellent ensemble cast that includes Morgan Freeman, Ed Harris, Bridgette Monahan and Casey Affleck (the real actor in the family), Gone Baby Gone soars as one of the best crime movie I’ve seen in years. To give a full plot summery would take away some of the allure of this film. Just know that Casey Affleck and Michelle Monaghan play Patrick Kenzie and Angie Gennero, private investigators in search of a missing girl. Lehane had also written other books with Kenzie and Gennero, so hopefully this won’t be the last we see Casey Affleck and Michelle Monaghan with these characters.
The film is remarkable in its realism. Affleck and his crew do an amazing job at developing the characters and their environment. The city of Boston, much like The Departed, is portrayed as a working class town full of tough talking Irishmen, far from the Ivy League schools it also hosts. There was never a moment where I doubted the authenticity.
What separates Gone Baby Gone from most thrillers is the moral dilemma that it presents. The ending, which I won’t reveal, presents a question that will test one’s ethics. When the protagonist of the story brings the antagonist to justice, 99% of the time we–the audience–know that the right decision had been made. This film explores that 1% when we question the outcome. It is this reason, why I must credit Ben Affleck. With the amount of resources that he has, he could have gone and done some B-movie thriller, but instead decides to go the extra mile and work with material as rich and nuanced as this.
I must now go back and finish eating my pie.
Jose (41 posts)Illustrator from Ann Arbor, MI Favorite Directors: Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg, David Fincher, Quentin Tarantino, and Christopher Nolan. http://www.jtungol.com
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I wasn’t too crazy about this movie.
First off, I don’t like Casey: he always seems to have the same expression of wonderment and his slurred speech makes it annoying to listen to him. I think the atmosphere of the movie was strong and I liked Ed Harris’ performance, so Ben Affleck must’ve done a good job somewhere.
I just don’t like Casey as I didn’t like him in The Assassination of Jesse James. Something about him just rubs me the wrong way…
Comment by paco — Mon February 25, 2008 @ 17:41Oh come on Paco. Give Casey a break. I agree that he lacks a certain “presence” on screen, but would you have preferred Ben to do the role instead? From the DVD interview, that’s what Ben originally envisioned. Casey’s worst acting performance is better than Ben’s best acting performance.The same thing was said about the Jesse James movie. But Casey was supposed to be annoying in that movie! He was the coward, the foil for Jesse James.
So in my mind, Casey is more suited for supporting roles. Yet if he’s cast along side other established character actors, like he is in Gone Baby Gone, than he can do the leading man thing without too much trouble too.
Comment by Jose — Thu February 28, 2008 @ 12:19Well, having Ben play a lead role is almost ALWAYS a bad idea.
(except for Good Will Hunting)
Still don’t like Casey, though
Comment by paco — Sun March 9, 2008 @ 21:34