Excellent adaptation--Hooray for Ben!

Rating: 10/10 (9 December 2007)

When I saw the first preview of this movie, I got goosebumps all over. I'd read the book by Dennis Lehane, and "Gone Baby Gone" is THE one & only story I've ever read which stuck in my gut and my soul without ever letting go. I was a little worried the ending might have been altered in the movie, but I've been rooting for Ben Affleck ever since the public began its mean assault on him, so I figured he wouldn't let me down...and he did not.
The plot was condensed, and some characters changed a little, as they would have to be. The language was updated (perhaps a bit foully) from the clever and ironic original, but the meat of the story came through bright and loud and clear. The direction and acting were brilliant, and so, so real. Casey Afflect was perfect, Ed Harris will surely receive an Oscar, and Amy Ryan was so effective, I didn't even notice she was acting, I was too busy loathing her. Keep your eyes on her future, people!
This is a gritty, hard, thought-provoking story.It's a story I'm so very glad has risen from the obscurity (these days) of print, to the toppity-top of the silver screen. Yay and bravo all around! Oh, and by the way, the ending WAS changed just a little bit from the novel. Screenwriters Ben Affleck and Aaron Stockard made the best decision ever to make the very last scene a study in subtle hopefulness rather than the heartbreaking conclusion to the novel. Both endings are good, but I think the movie's ending will draw more of an audience, and, perhaps, effect more change in the long run. I hope so, anyway.