Has its flaws, and some big ones, too, but still achieves something near greatness

Rating: 8/10 (22 October 2007)

Ben Affleck's directorial debut, based on a novel by Dennis Lehane, who also wrote Mystic River. 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 stupid, 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 cute 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 schtick where one of the two lovers fears for their significant other's safety, but bringing the hot chick into a powerful drug dealer's den sounds like a hostage situation waiting to happen. Casey Affleck delivers his second fine performance of the year, though it isn't as good as his Robert Ford, which I think might some day be considered iconic. Ed Harris is a sure thing for an Oscar nomination. The guy is such a master at his craft. It's a credit to Affleck's direction that the film can still be considered so good after some should-be fatal flaws.