Review of Gone Baby Gone (2007) by Trailesque — 29 Mar 2021
This was Ben Affleck's directorial debut, a thriller based on a novel by Irish-American writer Dennis Lehane. It is set in white, working class Boston - a classic location for this kind of story - and focuses on a private detective who sets out to help find a child that has been kidnapped.
Soon we are up to our hips in muck, with the child's mother revealed as a drug runner and user, and the hero (played by Casey Affleck, Ben's brother) attempting to supplement the efforts of the police.
There are some fine performances (e.g. Amy Ryan as the kid's mom, and Ed Harris as always) and gritty Boston atmosphere, but the plot twists and surprises are a little overdone. There is an interesting section in which it appears that the story has unexpectedly ended in the middle of the movie.
However new things start crawling out into the light, and the hero begins digging further. It all builds to a pretty incredible conclusion, but this thriller still held my attention all the way.
This review of Gone Baby Gone (2007) was written by Trailesque on 29 Mar 2021.
Gone Baby Gone has generally received very positive reviews.
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