I went into Ben Affleck’s directorial debut Gone Baby Gone hoping that it wouldn’t be too terrible. I left the theater doubting everything I knew about the man.
The plot revolves around the kidnapping of a 4-year-old girl and a private detective’s journey finding her. Patrick Kenzie, played effectively but with little emotion by Casey Affleck, is the detective, with Angie Gennaro (Michell Monaghan) as his girlfriend/partner. He is hired by Bea (Amy Madigan) and Lionel (Titus Welliver), the aunt and uncle of the kidnapped girl. The police, headed by Jack Doyle (Morgan Freeman), decide to help Patrick with his work. This is a typical set-up for a crime thriller, but certain details prevent this film from being typical. The mother of the kidnapped child is a coke addict, the police head lost a daughter of his own, the private detective has friends in the drug industry. What seems to be a crime thriller actually turns out to be a morality tale.
The cinematography gives a rugged edge to the picture, using bleak colors to depict the streets of Boston. It references classic gangster pictures, using accurate portrayals of people in the neighborhood to add color and tone. The editing at times could have been better, as some scenes jump cut to others without feeling complete.
The greatest achievement of the film is how it handles the actors. Each character is ridden with inner conflicts, and the actors project their emotions naturally. Titus Welliver’s performance as a recovering alcoholic and a father figure outshines the rest. Most of the characters mean well but go about their search for the child the wrong way, and the actors raise sympathy rather than judgment.
The second half is the true meat of the film. What seem like typical investigations turn into something more, raising questions about what is the best home for a child. The crime of kidnapping turns into a web of lies and personal values as characters mix their emotions with their jobs. The ending does not provide a moral of its own, instead leaving the audience to draw it’s own conclusion.
Nothing in the film is preposterous or trivial, and the emotions are presented without lavish decoration. The characters make resolute decisions, but the the motives behind them are ambiguous enough to allow the audience to ponder the film’s moral issues. If Ben Affleck would make more films like this and stop making Christmas movies with Tony Soprano, maybe people will start forgiving him for Gigli.
