Gone Baby Gone's a Thriller Filled With Dark Secrets.

Rating: 7/10 (29 May 2008)

Ben Affleck's directional debut is something very assured as his younger brother Casey Affleck stars in this Dennis Lehane-thriller. GONE BABY GONE is a high standard thriller, mesmerizing from the first second with Affleck's narrative-voice to the moral-dilemma of the finale. And Ben Affleck has done a great job combining the police-investigation with hometown-Boston flavor and psychological complexity, something not too many mystery-movies nail. The surface of this movie is pure mystery, a girl's disappearance shakes up the neighborhood - but underneath there lies moral and emotional shimmering, and that's where great acting-performances kicks in; the crackhead-mother is brilliantly played by Amy Ryan, and Ed Harris turns out a rock-hard police-detective, but Casey Affleck's first lead-role as Patrick Kenzie is truly breathtaking, showing his fully capable of a lead role.
This compelling thriller asks difficult questions, and the clues revealed throughout makes it one of the most thrilling movies so far this year. Bravo Affleck!