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Amazon.co.uk Reviews
For his initial offering as director, Ben Affleck returns to the site of his first Oscar: South Boston (he and Matt Damon shared the award for Good Will Hunting). Hot on the heels of his moving turn in Hollywoodland, Affleck's Dennis Lehane adaptation marks one of the more seamless actor-to-filmmaker transitions in recent years. Ostensibly, a procedural about the search for a missing child, class and corruption emerge as his primary concerns. First off, there's low-rent private eye Patrick Kenzie (Casey Affleck, equally adept in The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford). Then there's the girl's drug mule mother, Helene (Amy Ryan, Before the Devil Knows You're Dead). She and Patrick grew up in Dorchester, but he took a different path, setting up an agency with his girlfriend, Angie (Michelle Monaghan). Helene's aunt, Bea (Amy Madigan), hires the duo to augment the investigation, and they team up with Captain Doyle (Morgan Freeman) and Detective Bressant (Madigan's husband, Ed Harris). The authorities don't appreciate the interference, but Patrick knows how to get the local populace talking, and he soon finds there's more to the story than anyone could possibly imagine. Hard-hitting, but never soft-headed, the evocative end result proves Affleck has a flair for this directing thing and that his little brother can carry a major motion picture with aplomb. Gone Baby Gone belongs on the list of great Boston crime dramas, along with The Departed and Mystic River, Clint Eastwood’s take on Lehane. --Kathleen C. Fennessy
Synopsis
Based on the novel by Mystic River author Dennis Lehane, Gone Baby Gone marks the directorial debut of actor Ben Affleck. Featuring a solid cast including Ed Harris, Morgan Freeman, and Affleck's brother Casey, in the lead role as a private detective, Gone Baby Gone centres on the disappearance of a young girl in the working class neighborhood of Dorchester in South Boston. With plenty of twists and turns, the movie works as a solid crime thriller, but it's as a study of a place--and one's ability to either accept and embrace or ultimately break free from it--that the film flowers. Beneath the movie's street-tough justice and cop shop politics sits a very complicated view of the world, which Affleck delves into unflinchingly, thanks in large part to his ability to extract some excellent performances from his cast. Casey Affleck offers a nice mix of both steely resolve and vulnerability, while Harris presents a strong performance as a conflicted, emotionally tortured cop. Of particular note is Amy Ryan as the mother of the abducted girl. Her character's outrageous foul-mouthed demeanor ultimately ends up feeling both tragic and pathetic, with the only appropriate reactions being either pity or rage. It makes for an uncomfortable but affecting dichotomy. Gone Baby Gone signifies a confident and impressive turn behind the camera for one of Hollywood's more contentious stars. A Boston native himself, Affleck takes great care in evoking his city's entirety, from its undeniably ugly underbelly, to what feels like an almost primordial sense of community. It speaks to Affleck's substance as a director, and of good things to come.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
Denis lehane is an excellent author and the series of books concerning private eyes Kenzie and Genarro place him alongside Michael Connelly and Harlan Coben as one of America's top crime writers.
The film Gone Baby Gone is based on what is possibly the best of the Kenzie/Genarro books and Ben Affleck, in his directorial debut, has created an excellent movie, staying true to Lehane's storyline and getting a knockout performance from brother Casey as Patrick Kenzie.
The film barely surfaced in ths country, as it was originally due to come out at the same time as the Madeline McCann tragedy occurred and the film's storyline of child kidnap was too close to disturbing reality to get the kind of release it deserved.
The film also has strong performances from Ed Harris, Michelle Monaghan and especially Amy Ryan as the missing child's mother.
I highly recommend this film to everyone who has yet to see it.
The film Gone Baby Gone is based on what is possibly the best of the Kenzie/Genarro books and Ben Affleck, in his directorial debut, has created an excellent movie, staying true to Lehane's storyline and getting a knockout performance from brother Casey as Patrick Kenzie.
The film barely surfaced in ths country, as it was originally due to come out at the same time as the Madeline McCann tragedy occurred and the film's storyline of child kidnap was too close to disturbing reality to get the kind of release it deserved.
The film also has strong performances from Ed Harris, Michelle Monaghan and especially Amy Ryan as the missing child's mother.
I highly recommend this film to everyone who has yet to see it.
17 of 19 people found the following review helpful
Format:Blu-ray|Amazon Verified Purchase
Given no publicity and not shown in cinemas in the UK due to events at the time of release Gone Baby Gone passed by under the carpet.
It is a hidden gem that really shouldn't be missed. If you are a member of the 'yuck, it's Ben Affleck' bandwagon please, don't be put off. If this is anything to go by and he is hanging up the acting, we should have some great stuff in the future - maybe another Good Will Hunting?
Without giving too much away about halfway through there's a major left turn in the way the film is going and it's followed up with a series of them until the end. The only odd thing I found is Michelle Monaghan, I'm not sure that her charactor really needs to be here. Adds a bit of balance I suppose?
For those interested, the HD transfer isn't fantastic to be honest so if you haven't gone exclusively Blu you can happily stick to upscaled DVD.
It is a hidden gem that really shouldn't be missed. If you are a member of the 'yuck, it's Ben Affleck' bandwagon please, don't be put off. If this is anything to go by and he is hanging up the acting, we should have some great stuff in the future - maybe another Good Will Hunting?
Without giving too much away about halfway through there's a major left turn in the way the film is going and it's followed up with a series of them until the end. The only odd thing I found is Michelle Monaghan, I'm not sure that her charactor really needs to be here. Adds a bit of balance I suppose?
For those interested, the HD transfer isn't fantastic to be honest so if you haven't gone exclusively Blu you can happily stick to upscaled DVD.
10 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Format:Blu-ray
Based on a novel from the same author as Mystic River, this shares much of the same ambiguity and flawed characters of that movie. Set in the seedier and grittier parts of Boston, the tale revolves around a missing girl. Casey Affleck and Michelle Monaghan play the private detectives who are requested by relatives to help the search, and the beginning of the movie introduces us to a milieu which shows an unforgiving background for bringing up the child. The characters we meet include pimps, hard-assed barmen, mules (drug runners), dubious cops and various other dregs of society.
What is remarkable about the movie is how convincing is the air of authenticity of the neighbourhoods and houses. It all feels horribly real. And not least the characters, who all have their flaws as well as their streaks of humanity. Be warned, the language, particularly in the first third of the movie, is full of intense profanity which may put some off, but is certainly in keeping with the locales and personalities.
As the film progresses, it takes directions we could not suspect, raising genuine issues on where lines are drawn, how the thin wedge of corruption can take its toll, and should the role of a parent be questioned? It's controversial subject matter, unflinchingly portrayed, and absorbing with it.
There's no doubt that Ben Affleck has done the wise thing and surround himself with terrific co-workers... His brother Casey puts in a blisteringly underplayed performance that never fails to convince us of both his working class credentials and his strong moral compass. The entire effect is completed by the supporting cast comprising the likes of John Ashton, Morgan Freeman and the ever terrific Ed Harris who give real gravitas to proceedings. Harry Gregson Williams has delivered another unobtrusive but powerful soundtrack, and Oscar winning John Toll's cinematography is spectacular (particularly in this crystal clear Blu-Ray).
A stunning debut then from the elder Affleck, and another terrific performance from Casey Affleck further cementing his rise to stardom.
What is remarkable about the movie is how convincing is the air of authenticity of the neighbourhoods and houses. It all feels horribly real. And not least the characters, who all have their flaws as well as their streaks of humanity. Be warned, the language, particularly in the first third of the movie, is full of intense profanity which may put some off, but is certainly in keeping with the locales and personalities.
As the film progresses, it takes directions we could not suspect, raising genuine issues on where lines are drawn, how the thin wedge of corruption can take its toll, and should the role of a parent be questioned? It's controversial subject matter, unflinchingly portrayed, and absorbing with it.
There's no doubt that Ben Affleck has done the wise thing and surround himself with terrific co-workers... His brother Casey puts in a blisteringly underplayed performance that never fails to convince us of both his working class credentials and his strong moral compass. The entire effect is completed by the supporting cast comprising the likes of John Ashton, Morgan Freeman and the ever terrific Ed Harris who give real gravitas to proceedings. Harry Gregson Williams has delivered another unobtrusive but powerful soundtrack, and Oscar winning John Toll's cinematography is spectacular (particularly in this crystal clear Blu-Ray).
A stunning debut then from the elder Affleck, and another terrific performance from Casey Affleck further cementing his rise to stardom.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
A masterful exploration of the dark side of Boston
This is a dark, morally complex movie, which doesn't let the weighty themes it explores stop it from being a cracking thriller. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Aidan J. McQuade
Not a bad film.
Bought this after it being recommended to me from a friend, very good value, the film itself is quite good. Worth a watch and at this price, it's worth a buy.
Published 7 months ago by J Cossey
Gone but not forgotten!
Upon viewing Gone Baby Gone I wasn't convinced by the conclusion. It didn't quite feel right to me. although it does make sense I just found it hard to believe the motivations of... Read more
Published 9 months ago by j.r
Overrated - and very unlikely
I am surprised by the high ratings given by other reviewers to this one. The movie does keep you well awake on your chair, but that is not sufficient in my mind to get a good... Read more
Published 10 months ago by F. Panin
Doesn't do the book justice
Having thought the book class A was hoping to find the same in the film. Unfortunately I was really disappointed - as is often the case when a book has become a film -... Read more
Published 15 months ago by aragorn17
Better Than The Book
Private detectives Patrick Kenzie and Angie Gennaro find themselves coerced into taking the last case they'd want in the middle of an Indian summer. Read more
Published 19 months ago by P. J. Potter
A real thought piece.
Ok, so this might not be a crime thriller with the prestige of a Michael Mann picture or the fame and publicity of your average Scorsese flick, but it is a surprisingly good movie. Read more
Published 19 months ago by N. Snow
One of the most intelligent Hollywood mysteries of recent years
Wonderfully ambiguous, uncompromised, morally complex story of young private eye involved with a local kidnapping case. Read more
Published on 21 May 2010 by K. Gordon
Gone Baby Gone
Very well made film from the book by Denis LeHane who is a favourite author of mine. The lead characters were great - Casey Affleck must be heard of a lot in future. Read more
Published on 22 Mar 2010 by Mrs. June Baggott
No critical acclaim so its great.
Ahh so no one paid the critics to hype this movie up .......good. It shows what a bunch of tossers they realy are. Read more
Published on 27 Nov 2009 by Andrew J. Fisher
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