Tension, morality, and choice

Rating: 8/10 (16 October 2012)

Gone Baby Gone feels like Affleck is making amends with the audience for the one too many mistakes he has claimed to make throughout his decade-long career as an actor. From beginning in heavy-dramas to the occasional comedy in the nineties, to sporadically diverse films like the passable Daredevil and the odious Surviving Christmas, also making tabloid headlines for his relationship with Jennifer Lopez, Affleck's career has been inconsistent and sometimes even depressingly bleak. I have always stood firm on my praise for the man; he plays one of the best straight-men in films and always takes a confident step on to the screen, asserting his determined mindset and impenetrable swagger.
Affleck has informed me that as far as power goes, I haven't seen nothing yet. He takes a bold leap in the director's chair with this picture, as he films his younger brother Casey assuming a role of great impact. He plays private investigator Patrick Kenzie and is partners with his girlfriend Angie Gennaro (Michelle Monaghan).
The two have recently been hired to find a young kidnapped eight-year-old named Amanda (Madeline O'Brien), yet find complications arousing at every corner from the girl's drug addicted mother, Helene (Amy Ryan), two other cops working the case (Ed Harris and John Ashton), and the police chief (Morgan Freeman). And do not fall under the impression that this is a straight-forward, linear cop drama, because Gone Baby Gone hesitates not to employ twists and turns in every direction; much like a real private investigation.
The film's beautifully authentic photography turns Boston into its own grim character, depicting a working class city with a lion's weight of pressure at rest on its shoulders. Performance-wise, the film is highly significant, with Casey taking a good portion of the credit, proving his name should be just as popular as his brother's. It also goes with saying Morgan Freeman is effective and convincing here, and Michelle Monaghan takes the role of Patrick's girlfriend with a pleasing amount of substance, fortunately evading the depressing cliché of "the girlfriend role." The brothers Affleck prove that both are worthy of recognition, and both can provide their viewers with a rousing, unsettling setup sure to bring up debate and dissent. Gone Baby Gone isn't as forceful or as gripping and effective as Clint Eastwood's Mystic River (perhaps the only way for the film to be made is that it must be captured through a cold lens), yet its audacious writing and directing provides the audience with one of Affleck's admirably slickest efforts in film.
Starring: Casey Affleck, Michelle Monaghan, Morgan Freeman, Ed Harris, Amy Ryan, and John Ashton. Directed by: Ben Affleck.