Gone Baby Gone Review

This movie is hard to review without including spoilers, so read on at your own risk.

 I really liked this movie because it made me think. I love anything that works my brain, and ethics is one of those things. The ethics that come up for grabs in this story involve people making judgments about what is best for a child in a home where she really is not getting the best of care, though there is no overt physical abuse. Mostly the problem is neglect - so at the end of the movie when **!!!SPOILER!!!** the child is found to be in the care of the retired police chief and his wife because they think they can give her a better life, and not dead like everyone in the theater thought, the dilemma the thinking audience has is who is right. Should the child be returned to her drinking, drug abusing, promiscuous and neglectful mother who loves her daughter but hasn't made her the number one priority in her life, or should the child be left with the retired police chief and his wife who will raise her in a loving, caring home and give her all she needs? The simple answer is obvious of course, but if you put yourself in the shoes of the mother, and try to do it without judging her, then also listen to the logic of the PI who finds the child, and the simple answer suddenly stops being so simple.

All I can say is if you enjoy ethics / philosophy, SEE THIS MOVIE. The acting is good, the directing is good, the story is good. The language is a little rough, but appropriate for the context. Definitely worth the price of admission.