Gone Baby Gone

Gone Baby Gone (Casey Affleck, Michelle Monaghan, Morgan Freeman, Ed Harris, Amy Madigan, Amy Ryan) – It took several years to find out that Ben Affleck is a very good writer (Good Will Hunting) and a mediocre actor.  In Gone Baby Gone, we find out he has a promising career as a director.  It what feels like a gritty private eye drama in the Chinatown film noir tradition (though not nearly as good), a child is abducted in South Boston.  The child’s aunt, played by an aging Amy Madigan (Field of Dreams), comes to a pair of Southie young detectives to help investigate the kidnapping.  Untrusting of the local authorities, she figures these kids, played by Affleck (Ocean’s 11, 12, 13, Good Will Hunting) and Winthrop, Iowa’s own Michelle Monaghan (The Bourne Supremacy), can navigate the neighborhood quickly.  What they find out is gritty, sad, seedy, scary, and unnerving.  The film is both a typical crime drama and a mystery.  As the clues come into focus, nothing is exactly as it seems.  There is an element or two reminiscent of The Departed but not as well done.  There’s a hint of L.A. Confidential, too.  All this tells me is that Ben studied the best movies of this genre and tried to create a solid work product.  He has done that although it’s easy to see his lack of experience as a director.  He uses veterans Morgan Freeman (as a police captain) and Ed Harris (as the primary detective) to maximum benefit and star power. So give this high marks for keeping the audience guessing and turning young Casey and beautiful Michelle into credible investigators whose age is an obstacle but not a liability.  This film is not a gem but it is entertaining drama worth the price of admission.