Superb thriller!

Rating: 10/10 (8 April 2009)

I don't know a whole lot about how well this movie did in fests, at box offices or with the awards ceremonies...have to look that up soon. All I know is, Ben Affleck ought to be given lots of awards for this. It is an outstanding drama and a nail biting thriller. A superb cast including Casey Affleck, Titus Welliver, Ed Harris, and Morgan Freeman (who is incapable of anything less than perfect acting) about the abduction of a tot in Beantown, and how members of her family hire 2 private investigators to "augment" the search, GONE BABY GONE should seal Ben Affleck's talent and credibility once and for all.
There is not much negative I can say about it. The only problem I had was a few too many F words every other sentence at first, but after some time, it toned down a bit. It wasn't any worse than GOOD WILL HUNTING, and the Southie of Boston is not a sweet, cuddly neighborhood.
The plot is as twisty and complex as any high quality thriller you can compare it to, including one of my recent "brilliant but cancelled" TV series, KIDNAPPED. The acting, writing and cinematography are top quality. Casey Affleck gives a wonderful performance as the main character from whose viewpoint the story is given.
The ending is not easy to watch, resulting from a dilemma about morals and ethics. You feel angry, but you're not sure who to be angry at, and you're not sure if there was any way for the story to come out well from all angles. The ending is another reason this film is excellent. Nothing is force fed to you, and you make your own decision whether things should have been done the way Patrick did them.
I'll give it an A+.