Gone Baby Gone
Watched the Academy Award nominated, Ben Affleck-directed “Gone Baby Gone” last night. It’s based on the Dennis Lehane novel of the same name - Lehane also being the brilliant mind behind the story for Mystic River.
It stars Affleck’s younger brother Casey as private detective Patrick who specializes in finding missing persons from his turbulent neighborhood of Dorchester, MA. Patrick and his girlfriend are hired by the aunt of a missing 3-year old and face major crises both personally and professionally as they find themselves caught up in serious drugs, violence, pedophiles, and upsetting but prevalent corruption among the Boston police.
The movie has more twists and turns than you’d think reading the synopsis, and the latter half of the movie picks up quite a bit. Although entertaining isn’t the word I’d use, the movie is gripping and relevant and evokes emotions that don’t surface in even those movies driven by love and loss. The foremost issues are corruption and of course, guardian-child relationships and questioning the reasons behind WHY children in this country go missing at all.
Gone Baby Gone will tear at your heart and mind raising questions you may have not asked of yourself before, leaving it’s viewers without closure. Everyone wants the truth… until they find it.
Chestbump.com rating: **** for Casey Affleck and Morgan Freeman’s performances, raised moral awareness, and originality.
