Gone Baby Gone
Gone Baby Gone is Ben Affleck’s directorial debut, based on the novel from the author of Mystic River. Its British release date was postponed due to its similarities to the Madeline McCann kidnapping case.
In a working-class Boston neighbourhood, 4-year-old Amanda McCready has gone missing without a trace. The police are clueless, so Amanda’s desperate Aunt and Uncle plead with local private investigators Patrick Kenzie (Casey Affleck) and Angie Gennaro (Michelle Monaghan) to take the case.
Patrick and Angie know the neighbourhood and they also know the truth about Amanda’s drug-addicted mother Helene (Amy Ryan). As they dig into her story, they find themselves on a trail that winds through a chain of drug-dealers, ex-cons and child abusers, but brings them no closer to Amanda. In the glare of the media spotlight, they join forces with a relentless detective (Ed Harris) and a police captain (Morgan Freeman) – but just as it appears that the case is about to be cracked, in the flash of gunfire, the sad truth of Amanda’s fate is revealed.
- Director:
- Ben Affleck (feature debut)
- Writer:
- Ben AffleckAaron Stockard
- Cast:
- Casey AffleckMichelle MonaghanMorgan FreemanEd HarrisJohn AshtonAmy Ryan
Reviews & comments
Flicks, Andreas Heinemann
flicksFor his directorial debut, Ben Affleck returns to his native Boston to present a crime thriller about child abduction, paedophilia and ultimately the ambiguity of moral values and the human conscience. Clearly intended to be viewed as a dark human drama as much as a crime thriller, the genre from which many of the film’s strategies and techniques are borrowed from, Affleck has succeeded in winning himself critical and artistic acclaim that has eluded him since Good Will Hunting set him up as one of Hollywood’s next major talents over a decade ago.
Great film, frustrating ending
90% fantastic movie - in fact, taking the conclusion of the movie out of the equation, I'd give it four stars. The twists (and there are several) are genuine and you won't pick them. Ben Affleck has really captured the harshness of Boston's working class areas, and brother Casey once again shows himself to be a talent worth getting excited about. What...
Rolling Stone
pressGone Baby Gone is full of dark secrets, and how they unravel will keep you glued.
Roger Ebert
pressThe result is a superior police procedural, and something more -- a study in devious human nature.
Premiere Magazine
pressIt's been well-publicized that Affleck, going for as authentic a feel as possible, cast many genuine South Bostoners in both extra and speaking roles, and, while that's salutary, in some scenes his strategy backfires, yielding caricatures that are merely more vivid than the ones turned out by Central Casting Hollywood productions.
New Zealand Herald
pressA nihilistic, atmospheric police procedural set in his hometown, Boston, it has many inspired touches and the performances, particularly Ryan's, are outstanding.
But it is all in the service of a hugely complicated story which is too often impenetrable - both visually and dramatically. Worse, its morally ambiguous ending, though cogent enough in philosophical terms, is grim and unsatisfying.
Newshub
pressThe film comes with some unexpected twists and turns and has far from a Hollywood ending, all good - but the by-product of those twists and turns is a fairly convoluted series of events, held together a little too tenuously in parts.
Hollywood Reporter
pressIt's a tribute to this thoughtful, deeply poignant, splendidly executed film that we replay the conclusion in our minds long after the lights come on.
Christchurch Press
pressAs a director, Ben Affleck proves he has a great eye for choosing faces that tell a story. This film is packed with characters who, without even uttering a line, tell a story about where they've been and who they are.
Flicks, Andreas Heinemann
flicksFor his directorial debut, Ben Affleck returns to his native Boston to present a crime thriller about child abduction, paedophilia and ultimately the ambiguity of moral values and the human conscience. Clearly intended to be viewed as a dark human drama as much as a crime thriller, the genre from which many of the film’s strategies and techniques are borrowed from, Affleck has succeeded in winning himself critical and artistic acclaim that has eluded him since Good Will Hunting set him up as one of Hollywood’s next major talents over a decade ago.
Rolling Stone
pressGone Baby Gone is full of dark secrets, and how they unravel will keep you glued.
Roger Ebert
pressThe result is a superior police procedural, and something more -- a study in devious human nature.
Premiere Magazine
pressIt's been well-publicized that Affleck, going for as authentic a feel as possible, cast many genuine South Bostoners in both extra and speaking roles, and, while that's salutary, in some scenes his strategy backfires, yielding caricatures that are merely more vivid than the ones turned out by Central Casting Hollywood productions.
New Zealand Herald
pressA nihilistic, atmospheric police procedural set in his hometown, Boston, it has many inspired touches and the performances, particularly Ryan's, are outstanding.
But it is all in the service of a hugely complicated story which is too often impenetrable - both visually and dramatically. Worse, its morally ambiguous ending, though cogent enough in philosophical terms, is grim and unsatisfying.
Newshub
pressThe film comes with some unexpected twists and turns and has far from a Hollywood ending, all good - but the by-product of those twists and turns is a fairly convoluted series of events, held together a little too tenuously in parts.
Hollywood Reporter
pressIt's a tribute to this thoughtful, deeply poignant, splendidly executed film that we replay the conclusion in our minds long after the lights come on.
Christchurch Press
pressAs a director, Ben Affleck proves he has a great eye for choosing faces that tell a story. This film is packed with characters who, without even uttering a line, tell a story about where they've been and who they are.
Great film, frustrating ending
90% fantastic movie - in fact, taking the conclusion of the movie out of the equation, I'd give it four stars. The twists (and there are several) are genuine and you won't pick them. Ben Affleck has really captured the harshness of Boston's working class areas, and brother Casey once again shows himself to be a talent worth getting excited about. What...
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