Affleck Brothers No Match for Good Fiction
Added 9/16/2009
I remember my intrigue at Casey Affleck's character in Good Will Hunting how efficiently he played the part of the younger brother and his face registering with me. I knew I would see him again if for no other reason then that his brother, Ben and his buddy, Matt were making it big. Since then he has worked his way up the chart with parts of increasing weight. Now we are graced with the double debut of brother Ben's directing in a salable feature and Casey as lead in Gone Baby Gone.
I've had the good fortune to read several LeHane novels. Except for a few recent books, Mystic River among them, LeHane's stories involved an unlikely pair of investigators that have a long, sordid history in Boston. I missed Gone Baby Gone and for the sake of seeing the film version and this review I am glad I have not yet read it.
The film opens with Casey as Patrick Kenzie tooling through the streets of Boston, a cinematic tool that worked well in the development of the characters in Good Will Hunting but does nothing to establish the Kenzie character or a sense of the City of Boston. Instead the editor and director choose to idle on Casey Affleck's face and the simmering background of an aging Boston excessively and for no useful purpose.
LeHane's Kenzie/Gennaro series tells the story of Kenzie and his female partner Angela Gennaro, private detectives with a wide range of acquaintances from police detectives to the most heinous of Boston's underbelly. This is what puts them in the position they so often find themselves; doing the work that police could never get away with and solving the crime. This is an important point that fails to ever get established in the film. Both viewers who have read LeHane and those who have not are left asking several nagging questions; Who are Patrick Kenzie and Angela Gennaro? Why do people hire them?
It is with this unexplained history that Kenzie and his platonic live-in partner, Gennaro waltz into the offices of cops, Remy Bressant and Nick Poole and lay down some ultimatums about mutual cooperation after the pair reluctantly agree to investigate the kidnapping of a neglected four year old daughter of lowlife drug addict mother. For the next hour Kenzie happens upon clues in the case and the cops essentially do nothing. Then comes the first ending, the part where Kenzie's voice over emotionally prepares the audience for the end by telling the "beginning of the end" story of Gennaro's break up with him. Another failing in the choices made by the director leaves us feeling nothing here because we never learned that there was relationship between the two. In the novels, Gennaro plays many characters to Kenzie, in this case she could have been eliminated and nothing would have been lost.
The movie doesn't develop the character of Remy Bressant, deftly played by Ed Harris, a cop with an apparent debt owed to the aging Police Capt. Jack Doyle, played by Morgan Freeman. Without the Bressant character there would be no story. The talents of both Harris and Freeman are wasted in this film.
Instead of developing any of the characters, scenes like when brother, Lionel McCready, confesses the life cycle of three shots of Cutty and a tall boy are used. These types of poor editing choices waste precious minutes of film time. Ben, as co-writer of the adaptation, is also responsible for dialog that is so bad in places it distracts from the movie experience. The scene between Kenzie and Gennaro talking philosophy was beyond believable. Right then and there, I imagined Ben and Casey quibbling over the conversation in real life. That was a distraction. Kenzie's apparent devout religiosity and moral code is not set up properly and the audience is left with trying to believe that an afterthought rather than a crucial element is the basis for the emotional and moral decision that is the climax of the story. Where a more adept director could have left me crying at the end of this movie I skipped out of the theatre without a shadow on my heart. I am not beyond giving Casey another chance to succeed in a starring role but I would advise him not to do it with brother, Ben.
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Very realistic and gritty story
Added 9/6/2009
Who would have thought Ben Affleck had talent?
As someone who is currently working a missing child case, I can tell you this is a most realistic movie. It stretches a bit with who ultimately did it (no spoilers) in the end, but the fuzzy line between right and wrong, what is good and evil, and what should be and what should not be done is done with finess and reality without any fancy action hero type silliness. The use of actual people from the street vs actors helped, and the real actors do a great job in keeping with character. Shows Missing Child stories aren't always so simple or so easy.
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What a Great Story!
Added 8/13/2009
A little girl is reported abducted all over the news. Her family contacts the police to help them find her. They also contact a couple of independent investegators, hoping that they would help them find their girl.
Through out the film, the police and the 2 investigators run into different clues that makes them believe they are close to the truth, but confuses them all over. People watching this movie get so focused on the story and try to find the truth all along, only to get confused again and again. The twist in the end of the movie is so amazing!
Great Story with a Great Twist!
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A good, but forgettable, film
Added 8/9/2009
Gone Baby Gone is the story of private investigators Patrick (Casey Affleck) and Angie (Michelle Monaghan), and Patrick's journey to learn about his own sense of right and wrong on the mean streets of Boston.
The directorial debut for Ben Affleck, the film stars his younger brother Casey, as well as Michelle Monaghan, Amy Ryan, and Ed Harris. (Don't believe the cover--Morgan Freeman plays a limited role.) One day while watching the news in bed, the two PI's/lovers learn of a local girl in Boston being kidnapped, and watch as the mother (Amy Ryan) and her relatives plead for her return.
The following day, the missing girl's uncle and aunt come to the pair, asking for their assistance in tracking down what could have happened to their niece, as Patrick has all sorts of street connections the regular police don't have. Despite the protest by Angie (she doesn't want to find a little girl dead in a dumpster), Patrick accepts the task, and the two join detectives Remy Bressant (Ed Harris) and Nick Poole (John Ashton) in trying to solve the case.
From there it's a series of twists and turns, false leads and false solutions, ultimately ending in a way that will completely split friends apart if you choose to discuss the final act.
In terms of the actual overall plot, Gone Baby Gone isn't anything too new; it's the little things that add up. Despite the critical success of films such as The Departed and Mystic River, Gone Baby Gone is, in my opinion, the best piece of modern cinema to showcase the tension and issues between cops, criminals, and the neighborhoods they co-exist in.
Ben Affleck does a surprising job in directing the film (guess we know where that duo's talent came from), and every scene seems to be filmed with care to the details, but it's never so overblown that it becomes pretentious. It's hard to judge a new director based on one film, but I think it's safe to say that Ben has a promising directorial career ahead of him if he decides he likes staying behind the camera more than standing in front of it.
If I have one complaint about the film, it's that at times it becomes too preachy and too over-the-head-with-a-hammer obvious in what it's trying to accomplish. There are parts where a moral dilemna is faced by Patrick or the police with both sides being presented, but the filming and acting makes it very clear who it is we SHOULD be rooting for.
My only other complaint is the sticker on the front of the DVD case which was hyping the new eye-opening extended ending. In reality, the extended ending is the theatrical ending with another sentence of dialog spoken by Patrick as the film closes. It does little to create any new realizations, and anyone with common sense can tell that what he says is what he was thinking all along.
Still, Gone Baby Gone is a solid first effort by Affleck, and features a great cast of supporting actors you've never heard or seen before amidst film giants such as Ed Harris and Morgan Freeman. For those who like cop thrillers, Gone Baby Gone is a good movie that will likely be an enjoyable night in. If you didn't like The Departed or those ilk, though, this will do nothing to change that.
CONTENT - 3.5/5
The movie itself is solid enough, but I just can't help but shake the feeling that I only like it because I'm supposed to. It's enjoyable, really, but it's nothing that will be remembered when I look back months from now at my favorite movies I've watched this year. I can tell you one thing, though: years from now, college students will cite this as one of their favorites along with Donnie Darko.
VIDEO - 4/5
It's amazing how well they managed to fade colors and make them appear washed-out on a standard DVD disc. The entire film has the look of it like it's filmed on a low budget camera or in the 70s/80s, but it's pulled off so well that it becomes an addition to the narrative, not a deterrent.
AUDIO - 3/5
There's little use of surround in a film centered around dialog, but when there's background noises on the streets, they're well done. Subtract a point if you could never stand Boston accents.
EXTRAS - 3/5
There are two main extras: Going Home, and Capturing Authenticity. Going Home is a 20-odd minute set of talking head interviews and anecdotes with the people involved in shooting the film, as well as the author of the book. Decent enough, but for the most part it's pretty boring. Capturing Authenticity deals with the use of authentic city people in the movie, as well as the attempt to make it as authentic as possible. Solid enough, but I can't help but wish for a more fleshed out look. As for the deleted scenes... Well, I already told you my thoughts about the "thought provoking" extended ending.
REPLAY - 3.5/5
If you've seen it once, you'll never fall for the twists and revelations again. It is, however, a good film to watch with friends to spark some conversation. It's also a good way to tell if your friends are pro- or anti-kidnapping. Keep an eye on Kurt.
OVERALL - 3.5/5
Gone Baby Gone is a very solid debut for Director Ben Affleck, and overall an above average piece of cinema. While I don't agree with the widespread sentiment that it's one of the most thought provoking films of our generation, it is a good movie worth a watch. Possibly not one to purchase, but a rental shouldn't hurt at all.
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If you adhere to the "F" word as one getting you through life, then shame on you!
Added 7/5/2009
This "production" where even the caterers are thanked in the credits, is pure rubbish. The use of profanity to get an R rating is such a cheap trick. The only worthwhile actor in the bunch of these unknowns is Morgan Freeman - but why would he associate himself with such a loser film? Casey Affleck has the worst possible diction, a lightweight voice that doesn't carry, and putting on an accent when he murmurs instead of speaks makes one believe the viewer has a hearing problem. It is hogwash in its purest form. STUPID, DUMB, PROFANE TO THE POINT OF DESECRATING JESUS CHRIST - well, Mr Ben Affleck the writer, how could you pen such filthy abomination? Repenting won't cut it for you sir, and as you must have found out by now, no one will touch you with a hundred foot pole. Career: OVER. Same goes for you Jennifer, how can you and your kids applaud Daddy at the end of the day is beyond anything I can imagine.
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