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Gone Baby Gone
One of the Oscar®-nominated films from 2007 is Gone Baby Gone, a terrific movie that forever wipes away the Bennifer I stain from Ben Affleck’s career. Affleck directed and co-wrote this film, based on a Dennis Lehane novel about a private detective who gets deeply involved in a missing child case. Affleck’s younger brother Casey takes the main role of Patrick Kenzie. Patrick, along with his girlfriend and partner Angie (Michelle Monaghan), is hired by the aunt and uncle of the missing girl. Her mother (Amy Ryan) is beyond helping and beyond help – she’s a drug addict that could scarcely take care of the tyke. Patrick and Angie find themselves heading down the rabbit hole into a case that sees them strangely at odds with some members of the Boston police force, who have their own reasons for dealing with this case the way they do. You see, Captain Doyle (Morgan Freeman) lost his own daughter when she was twelve, and he’ll do anything not to lose another child. The film paints a vivid picture of working class Boston neighborhoods and the straight and crooked characters that populate them. There’s a real sense that a private investigator could be trusted more than the cops — to a point — which is why Patrick and Angie are hired onto the case. Or is it? There are plenty of twists in Gone Baby Gone, and a surprise ending that features a real Sophie’s Choice-esque moment, asking viewers a tough question about what’s best for children, family ties or a stable environment? As Helene, the young girl’s mom, Amy Ryan earns the film its lone Oscar® nomination, and does she ever. I watched one of the extra features on the DVD and saw what Ryan looks like out of character, and then went back to the film. Ryan is barely recognizable as the coked out and boozing Helene, laying on a thick accent, and utilizing the slumped posture of a defeated human being. She could be the dark horse in this year’s Supporting Actress race, if the Academy doesn’t decide to honor 83-year-old Ruby Dee (“American Gangster”). The DVD of Gone Baby Gone includes several deleted and extended scenes, a couple of short featurettes, and an audio commentary with Ben Affleck and co-writer Aaron Stockard. The two discuss the development and production of Gone Baby Gone and remind us of why Affleck was honored by the Academy many years ago for Good Will Hunting. He’s a smart guy, and it looks like he’s ready to show it again. 02/20/08 Back to the main Cinema Tuesdays Reviews page More about the Cinema Tuesdays series  |
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