Cry, Baby, Cry (Gone Baby Gone (DVD))

Member Name: cyberem78

Product:	Gone Baby Gone (DVD)
Date:	02/09/09 (43 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Thought provoking. Intelligent drama.

Disadvantages: Casey Affleck's difficult to understand voice.

This 2007 movie was directed by Ben Affleck - his first major feature as a director - and stars his brother Casey Affleck as the lead with Morgan Freeman, Ed Harris, Michelle Monaghan and Amy Ryan in supporting roles. The story is based on a novel by Dennis Lehane (who also wrote 'Mystic River') and involves the dissapearance of a young girl and the attempts made to find her by two novice private detectives and the police force.

Casey Affleck plays Patrick Kenzie, a young and inexperienced detective who works out of the rough Boston neighbourhoods with his partner girlfriend Angie Gennaro (Michelle Monaghan) looking for missing persons. Their usual cases involve runaways and society drop-outs so they feel a little out of their depth when they are approached by the family of a missing little girl.

The story is set in the darkest, hardest parts of Boston city and Ben Affleck has gone to extraordinary lengths to make this landscape feel gritty and realistic. In the early part of the film the cameras sweep through the grimy streets showing the real faces of Boston's inhabitants - there is none of the glitzy, glamorous Hollywood here. This crowd include stay at home moms at home watching 'Jerry Springer', drug addicts, the unemployed and poor. It is in this desperate community that our missing girl, Amanda, has been raised.

Casey Affleck is totally believable in the part as a young man who once indulged in the lifestyle of the mad and the bad with the deadbeats in town but who is now upstanding and clean. The actor's babyface makes the character seem very likeable and at times innocent and even naive. Seeing Kenzie struggle with the case of the missing child is like watching someone who thinks he has seen the cruelest crimes and most nefarious human behaviour imaginable but suddenly discovers that there even worse things in the world. Whislt Affleck's suitablility for the part is not questionable I do find that his voice is grizzly and along with the nuances of the Boston accent is quite indistinguishable, so much so that I had to watch the entire DVD with the subtitles on. I feel his diction is a big problem in this film.

The supporting roles are all well acted. Amy Ryan stands out as a grief stricken family member. Ed Harris, Morgan Freeman and Titus Welliver also nail their parts and turn in memorable, skilled performances. Affleck's female couterpart really stands out on screen for her poise and beauty. Michelle Monaghan's character is tough yet emotional and from the viewpoint of a woman I have to say her smart and focused character was much needed to diffuse the lightning spikes of testosterone. There are several deleted scenes on the DVD featuring her character that I feel should have been included in the movie though. These scenes explore to more extent how the situation with the missing child is seen and felt from a female's perspective.

Whilst the first half of the movie has a gritty, sad and realistic feel to it the latter half begins to feel more like an adaptation of a clever crime fiction novel as the twists slowly emerge. As the movie reaches its climax it is obvious that tears will be shed and hearts broken. A tense and terrible moral choice lies at the end of Kenzie's journey. Even after all the loose ends have been tied at the conclusion of the main plot there are thought-provoking end scenes which whilst provoking feelings of sorrow, dread and anger in me also had the effect of making me consider the broader ideas behind aspects of the flm: human nature and behaviour, class divides and the welfare of children.

This movie is very deep, intelligent and thoughtful yet these attributes are combined with exciting and nerve-jangling action and plot. The ending of the movie is one of the most dramatic, compelling finales I have ever seen and has haunted me ever since. I'd call this movie a triumph for Ben Affleck and would recommend this to anyone who likes films that tackle serious issues.

The DVD has several bonus features including:

Deleted Scenes

Casting Process

On Location at Boston

Audio Commentaries

Summary: A thought-provoking and haunting movie.