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Harvey Karten's Reviews

Review: Gone Baby Gone

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#1 of 4 Posted 10/13/07 6:11 PM

From harveykarten Posts 744 Last Nov-19
To All [Msg # 22692.1 ]

GONE BABY GONE

Reviewed for CompuServe by Harvey S. Karten
Miramax Films
Grade: C+
Directed by:    Ben Affleck
Written By: Ben Affleck, Aaron Stockard, novel by Dennis Lehane
Cast:   Morgan Freeman, Casey Affleck, Michelle Monaghan, Ed Harris
Screened at: Broadway, NYC, 9/18/07
Opens: October 19, 2007

Next to murder and treason, kidnapping is the most serious offense one can commit. At least one poor
fellow, Caryl Chessman, was executed in California though he killed no-one. When a small child is
abducted, he or she can suffer physically and psychologically: the impact on the parents is devastating.
But not all parents are particularly shattered. Ben Affleck, directing "Gone Baby Gone" from Dennis
Lehane's novel–which he and fellow scripter Arron Stockard follow right down to keeping the name of
the characters–deals with the effect of a kidnapping on the four-year-old girl's parents, a group of police
detectives, two private investigators, and a community of low-lifes in Boston's seedy Dorchester
neighborhood, which houses drug pushers, addicts, pederasts and thieves. The story is a complex
policer, not targeted to an audience that can barely pay attention to the "Die Hard" series, but ultimately
the plotting becomes so convoluted that one cannot blame audience members for giving up trying to
make sense of the intricate connections of the involved persons. Novelist Dennis Lehane, whose
"Mystic River," was made into a film by Clint Eastwood, is also about a tight-knit working class nabe in
Boston, but featured performers who were better cast for the roles--Sean Penn, Tim Robbins, Kevin
Bacon and Laura Linney as examples. Eastwood's leisurely plotting made comprehension less
cumbersome.

In Affleck's pic, two private investigators, Patrick Kenzie (Casey Affleck) and his associate/girlfriend
Angie Gennaro (Michelle Monaghan) are hired by Bea McCready (Amy Madigan), the aunt of a
kidnapped four-year-old. She asks them to carry out an investigation parallel with the police efforts,
which they reluctantly accept–since three days' post-abduction, the victims are usually dead. The girl's
mother, Helene McCready (Amy Ryan), is a coke-head who appears only marginally concerned with her
child's fate.   Police Captain Jack Doyle (Morgan Freeman) and Detective Remy Bressant (Ed Harris)
hesitantly agree to allow the duo to tag along, since Patrick, who enjoys a web of contacts with some of
Boston's seedier types, might come up more easily with clues to the child's whereabouts.

The story is loaded with twists, most of which come up at least two-thirds into the story, which unravel
the connections that a diverse body of people have with the crime. By the tale's conclusion, the
audience is left intriguingly with some moral questions that will allow some to lean one way in their
interpretation of the private detective's ethics, others going in the opposite direction. A clearer
exposition would have helped us to care more, but as this movie comes across it looks as though the
editing is a cut-and-paste job. Moreover Casey Affleck, a baby-faced 31-year-old private eye, talks
tough but it's difficult to take this guy seriously as a past and even current denizen of underworld types.
Nor did his raspy voice–late Marlon Brando-ish–help his character's credibility. John Toll's lensing
evokes the sordid Dorchester environment well.

Rated R.    114 minutes   © 2007 by Harvey Karten Member: NY Film Critics Online

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#2 of 4 Posted 10/27/07 7:31 PM

From Devra J Swiger Posts 363 Last Jul-17
To harveykarten [Msg # 22692.2 22692.1 ]

Harvey:

I need your help...LOL. I just went to see this movie and about 10 minutes prior to the ending my 15 year old daughter insists she has to leave in order to get ready for a Halloween event in LA. So...I didn't see the ending (and I have to estimate the time left as I know how long it was supposed to run and I know what time I left). Would you mind terribly PMing me the ending. Just assume 10 minutes or so (won't spoil it by telling you what was happening just when I left).

I was so glad to hear your review mention how confusing it was. There are some points I am not clear on (like why the robbery with the Halloween masks towards the end?)/

Thanks!

Devra Swiger Certified Personal Trainer/Pilates Instructor WWW.ab-Pilates.com

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