What would you do?

Rating: 8/10 (14 August 2008)

This is a film about moral dilemmas, about which side you take and about what you decide to do with the things you know because of how you think they'll affect you in the future; and it's directed by Ben Affleck. I don't point this out as a major thing, but the truth is I never quite liked Affleck neither quite disliked himHis "Gone Baby Gone" made me choose one side: I like the man.
Based on a novel by Denis Lehane (the man who wrote "Mystic River"), Affleck and Aaron Stockard tell the story of Patrick (Casey Affleck), a private detective who has never left his neighborhood and sometimes takes care of finding those people the rest don't feel they have to find anymore. With his camera, courtesy of John Toll's photography (one with beautifully constructed images and sequences, if I may say), Affleck makes sure that we feel the familiarity that the main character shares with the neighborhood. Peacefully he lets us see the streets, the people who walk them and a sense of security provided by Harry Gregson- Williams' score.
But of course, every place that appears really safe never is, and soon Patrick and his girlfriend Angie (an unexpected portrayal by Michelle Monaghan) find themselves in the middle of the solving of the abduction of a little girl that's all over the news. She's Amanda, the daughter of Helene (a solid Amy Ryan, though not amazing as everyone said), a drug addict and clearly unstable woman who took her daughter to the bar where she consumed as she was consuming.
The character of Helene is the first and the main moral aspect that Affleck provides in his movie. Throughout the film Patrick will encounter individuals he knows-after all, he's lived in the town his whole life, and he says it- and meet others he doesn't, of whom most also have deep moral concerns. Two key players are Remy Bressant and Jack Doyle, policemen played brilliantly by Ed Harris and Morgan Freeman, respectively.
Affleck's narrative as a first time director is absolutely impressive, as he puts the Patrick character in the middle of the tale as the individual who not only knows more about what's going on, but apparently wants to know more than the rest. Morality takes over his actions, as he looks like Jack Nicholson's role in "The Pledge"; a man with a promise to keep, no matter what.
What's great about Patrick is that he slowly starts realizing he cares more about what he's investigating than the rest, and this makes him suspect. The thing is that, masterfully after an hour of film, Affleck makes us believe the case is close and provides Patrick with one of those speeches that usually appear when films end. So maybe personally Patrick's not so consumed with his investigation, but he inevitably becomes consumed afterwards, because of some revealing conversations that activate his thoughts again, and because he realizes the person he cares about the most is driving more away from him as time goes by.
Without question, there are two keys to the success of "Gone Baby Gone", more a personal drama than the resolution of an apparent crime (as "Mystic River" was). The first one is Casey Affleck's starring performance. I wonder what it would be like to be directed by your brother. I suppose it would be fun, because here Casey delivers a perfect portrayal in what represents his first major role in twenty years of acting.
The second key (though we already knew about this, because of what Affleck did alongside Matt Damon with "Good Will Hunting) is the script: so plausible, unpretentious and connected to reality, it shows its magic with emphasis in two conversations; one that Patrick has with the Harris character and another one he has with the Freeman character.
And it's like Matsan (who wished the film had ended at the conversation with Freeman) said: in a very good movie that doesn't take sides and leaves the decision to the viewerWhat would you do?