Expecting a dull police procedural? Think again.

Rating: 9/10 (27 November 2009)

Kidnapped girl. White trash parents. Rookie detective/cop looking to redeem him/herself. Seedy underworld. Yada Yada.
That's what I thought going into this. I should have known better when I knew quite well that the script is based on a book by Dennis Lehane, a Boston-based writer that I've come to really admire the last few years from works like "Coronado" and "Mystic River." Like "River," "Gone Baby Gone" delivers a fairly realistic portrait of working class Beantown, layered with characters that while on the surface seem a little hacked from the same template, reveal layer after layer of gray, never making you feel very good about them or about yourself by comparison.
I really admired two things about this film. First, the way it takes you down one path so sincerely, really involving you in a story, then just dead-ends. You look at the clock going..."Uh, right...there's an HOUR left in the movie." Then you start down another, much shorter, corridor...and it dead-ends too. Then you start the final act, which takes you in another direction entirely, though in retrospect it ties everything else up and --- for me --- creates a satisfying denouement.
I know many people will take issue with that, but that's the second thing I like about the film's story. It has a strong moral center. It really challenges you to take your emotion out of your judgments and view right and wrong for what they are. I don't want to say any more, as I know if I had known more about the plot, this movie wouldn't have been even remotely as enjoyable. It's a good ride.
The casting is knock-out. You get an exceptionally strong break-out perf from Casey Affleck, who I had only seen in smaller supporting roles prior to this (with the exception of "Gerry") and not what you expect from veteran character actors like Amy Madigan, Amy Ryan, Ed Harris, Morgan Freeman (which really surprises me), and John Ashton, who's always wonderful, and whom we still see far too little of.