Gone Baby Gone Review

This review is spoiler-free! 

The Case

We get a lot of free movie passes and advance screening tickets in the mail, and the latest one was for a movie called Gone Baby Gone.  Honestly, I'd never heard of it.  Had to look it up to find out who was in it and what it was about.  A cop movie.  Really?  Well, I had nothing else to do last Tuesday, so what the heck.  I went to see it.  And I walked out of the theater totally impressed.

The Good

Gone Baby Gone is a movie based on the Dennis LeHane novel of the same name.  I haven't read the book, but after seeing this movie, I really want to.  Casey Affleck shines as hometown private investigator Patrick Kenzie, and, thanks to Ben Affleck's amazing directing, the flow of the movie is smooth, natural, tense, and unpredictable all at the same time.  I think the Affleck brothers should team up more often!

The plot of the movie revolves around the kidnapping of a young girl from her home in Dorchester, a tough Boston neighborhood where people look out for their themselves.  Patrick and his "better half" Angela Gennaro (played by Michelle Monaghan) are asked by the family to help with the investigation.  What follows is an intense maze of murder, deception, and deceit.  Expect layers within layers, expect twists and turns, and, more than anything, expect the unexpected.

In my mind, the best movies are the movies that make you think about them afterwards, and this film has many, many elements that will get your mind going.  It's my definition of a must-see.

The Bad

This film is not for kids, and it's not for the faint of heart.  it tackles tough subjects, and it doesn't sugarcoat them.  I really liked that aspect of the movie, but it makes it hard to watch at times.  I think that might be the point, though.

The Verdict

Five stars!  Next time you hit the theater, don't leave it until you've seen Gone Baby Gone!