Honey, I blew up the kid

Rating: Null/10 (15 February 2010)

There's nothing better than a noir or detective plot done well. The thrill of the chase, that impenetrable web of mystery, those brave private investigators who carve their way through labyrinths of deceit, bad guys and double crosses. It's just so damn juicy when done well.
"Gone Baby Gone" isn't a great film – first time director Ben Affleck is still learning the ropes – but its got a script that knows how to jerk its audience around and is filled with some great performances, most notably young Casey Affleck in the lead. Casey, so great in "The Assassination of Jesse James", charms us with his lopsided grin, his guttural voice and kind face. He and his girl are our Bogarts, and together they work their way through the film's mystery (the kidnapping and potential murder of a child) with workmanlike efficiency.
7.9/10 – Author Dennis Lehane wrote both "Mystic River" and "Gone Baby Gone", both films trying to examine the effects of a shocking crime on a close knit community. "Mystic River" may have better production design and a more palatable sense of tragedy, but "Gone Baby Gone" has a better lead hero in Casey Affleck. He's a humble and likable private investigator, immediately endearing.
Still, this is old school mystery fiction. The true noirs of today are such widely different films as "Inland Empire", "The Wire", "Mulholland Drive", "Eyes Wide Shut", "Boarding Gate", "Miami Vice", "Girlfriend Experience" etc, all offering a far more sensual world of overlapping labyrinths and unresolved conflicts. They are noir as globalized conflict, whilst fare like "Mystic River", "Gone Baby Gone", "Zodiac" etc are decidedly retro.
Worth one viewing. Though excellent for a debut, once you know the film's outcome, director Ben Affleck's aesthetic isn't seductive enough to keep us coming back for second helpings.