This movie was on broadcast TV over the weekend – couldn’t resist watching – and I noticed all the cuts. Between the commercials and the deleted scenes, a lot of the momentum, and energy was lost. Watch it on DVD for the full experience.
The brothers Affleck – Ben directs, and Casey stars – are responsible for this turbulent film. Based on a Dennis Lehane book, “Gone Baby Gone” starts as a child abduction case – a little girl goes missing in Boston, can she be found in enough time? (The longer a child is missing, the higher the possibility that the situation will end badly: child never found or child deceased.)
The actors, led by the thin, wavery voiced Casey Affleck as the private eye,Morgan Freeman, and Ed Harris as the cops and Amy Ryan as the mother of the missing child, are terrific.
The movie unfolds with the unfortunately familiar process – a massive search for the 4 year old involving police, family members, tons of press camped outside the home, etc. Then, one of the relatives of the missing child hires a private detective to question neighbors, thinking that those who would rather not talk to the police may talk to him. The drama escalates, the mystery widens and becomes complex as the layers are peeled and we are introduced to the over the top, out of control characters who may or may not be involved in what happened, including the little girl’s foul mouthed mother.
The plot thickens and morphs into a compound mystery. The “who” changes to “what” and back again to “who dunnit” like a pin ball careening around. So many twists and turns that at times I did have to ask “Hunh? What just happened here?” Certain events may have been added and made obscure on purpose (“Red Herrings”) just to heighten the mystery, but it works. I was entertained thru all the surprises until the sad ending. (“Sad”, but not for the reasons you might expect.)
“Doing the right thing” – what it is/what it isn’t – is such a personal thing, as it should be, since we have to live with our choices. But, the results of our choices/ decisions often radiate outward and cause repercussions for others.