Gone Baby Gone

"I find the people who started in the cracks and then fell through. This city can be hard. When I was young, I asked my priest how you could get to heaven and still protect yourself from all the evil in the world. He told me what God said to His children. "You are sheep among wolves. Be wise as serpents, yet innocent as doves."

When I saw the name of the movie 'Gone baby Gone' , I assumed that it might be a romantic-comedy flick but when I saw that the man in the poster has a gun in his hand, I became curious.

The first three minutes of the movie and I could sense that I was in for something special and it really blew me away. This is a tough movie where even people who set out with good motives can’t help but leave a lot of dead bodies.

The film is about a little girl, Amanda, who is kidnapped right out of her mother’s apartment. The girl's mother Helene McCready (Amy Ryan) seems indifferent as she is always drinking and high on drugs. She doesn’t seem to be too concerned that her daughter is gone. The girl's Aunt & Uncle do care and they hire Patrick Kenzie (Casey Affleck) and Angie Gennaro (Michelle Monaghan) to supplement the investigation because they will get info on the street and through the neighborhood unlike the cops. There is also two police officers Remy Bressant (Ed Harris) and Nick Poole (John Ashton) who are investigation the case. The movie then tracks the investigation part by patrick and his partner Angie talking to shady people, using their contacts. What happened to the little girl, was she murdered, what was the motive behind the kidnapping? I don’t want to get into the plot anymore as it’s better to discover it as you watch the film. But the ending was surprising as well as shocking for me, It made me think was the decision that is taken in the end of the movie is right or wrong? Life is all about taking decisions and Sometimes, the choices we make are very complicated and it is hard to tell what the right decision is.

Ben Affleck's directorial debut is stunning. I hate most of his films in which he acted (Armageddon, Pearl Harbor, Paycheck, Gigli, etc.), so I think he is good to be in director's seat. The movie is based on a novel by Dennis Lehane, who also wrote the novel Mystic River. The acting is terrific across the board. Casey Affleck is perfect in the role of Kenzie. It is quite tough to believe that a soft and child faced actor can carry the arrogance and harshness the character needs at times with vigour and zeal. In a way his mild mannered face helps in giving the person the stillness and lucidity required to take decisions affecting many at conscience level. Morgan Freeman and Ed Harris are excellent, as usual. Amy Ryan is excellent in the role fo missing girl's mother, she has been nominated to this year's Oscar award in the best supporting actress category. Personally I did not feel that she should be nominated for oscars, all I could remember was her character abusing and using a lot of foul language.

The film is beautifully shot by John Toll and perfectly cut by William Goldenberg. Ben Affleck has made a perfect thriller, the pace of the movie may be a bit different from the rest of the thrillers but it keeps our interest because the story is so powerful. I am waiting to see what Affleck direct's next and hope he comes out with something different.