Gone Baby Gone is full of twists and turns that take you on a powerful, uncompromising journey of pain and deceit

Rating: 9/10 (19 September 2017)

Ben Affleck has shed beautiful light on his talent as an actor on screen. But about his talent behind the camera? Making his directorial debut, Affleck crafts a dark and twisted tale about every parent's worst nightmare: the kidnapping of a child. Packed with unexpected twists and powerful emotional resonance to keep the heart pounding to its very last breath, Gone Baby Gone is an uncomfortably profound experience that dares to leave you convinced of the unsettling events that unfold on screen, the opening minutes of exposition, to the shocking twist of moral dilemmas and the blurred lines between right and wrong. By no means is this a comfortable picture to sit through. It is dark, grisly story where the moments are levity are as scarce as water in the desert. After all, the events are inspired by the novel of the same name by Dennis Lehane who also wrote 'Mystic River'. Set in Boston, the director's hometown, this film follows Patrick Kenzie (played by Casey Affleck, Ben's younger brother) and Angie Gennaro (played by Michelle Monaghan), two private detectives who are hired by Lionel (played by Titus Welliver) and Bea McCready (played by Amy Madigan) to go under investigation for their missing four-year-old niece Amanda, initially against the will of her drug-addicted mother (played by Amy Ryan). As the two dive deeper and deeper into the investigation, they are confronted with suspicious secrets involving local drug dealers, gang members, and the local law enforcement that leaves them questioning everything they about this case.
Thanks to Ben Affleck, this is a mystery/thriller that avoids following the tracks of a straightforward narrative, but instead drives its stories through misdirection and moral ambiguity to leave you questioning every character involved with this case. Although the story takes a while to pick up with its slow exposition during the first half, it powerfully builds up the layers of the characters and sets up for the rigid complexity of the story. Much of this pays off during the final stretch when the lead character Patrick and Angie are forced to confront against the demons that threaten their moral pedestals. And Affleck captures the events with pure grit and emotional magnitude with just enough tension leave viewers shivering in their seats. Setting the action in the middle-class Boston is perhaps no surprise as Affleck knows the town very well, but he also uses this location to great advantage by capturing the dour environment of a place riddled with crime, drugs, and prostitution. Once the events finally reach a conclusion, there is still a sense of uncertainty underlined by moral ambiguity of the characters. At the end, viewers are likely to find themselves divided on whether the character made the right decision or not. It comes to show that no goods come without punishment. As for Casey Affleck, he puts on a great performance. Though nothing I would consider Oscar-worthy, it effectively shows he has the acting chops he rarely gets the demonstrate unlike his older brother. Michelle Monaghan makes good use of her talent as well. Again, nothing that shouts for Oscars. Morgan Freeman and Ed Harris, unsurprisingly put on blissful performances. Arguably the most profound display in the roster is Amy Ryan who makes a convincing impression of a mother with a low-life persona who nonetheless is anxious of finding her daughter, even though her volatile personality does little to show it. The movie never lets any of its inspiring stars go to waste.
Gone Baby Gone is a profoundly riveting mystery/thriller with a patent of powerhouse performances, an uncompromising package of snappy twists and turns, and a surprisingly strong directorial efforts by Ben Affleck. It is not a pretty picture, it is a dark one bound to leave even the most desensitized viewers squirming in their seats. Bloody is also a word not worth leaving out. Above all, it proves Affleck has just as much charismatic talent behind the camera as does in front.