Gone Baby Gone Review

I don't know if I've ever been so torn about how I felt coming out of a film as I have last Saturday night at the end of Gone Baby Gone.

You see, as someone who watches with a critical eye, I appreciate every reason why Gone Baby Gone is one of the best films of the year.  First time director Ben Affleck does a heck of a job.  His younger brother Casey turns in a great performance, just one of many by the film's cast.  It makes you think, it unsettles you, it challenges you on the line of what is right and what is wrong; it asks questions most films wouldn't touch, and revels in bringing to light the political incorrectness that lies in each member of the audience.

And yet, as a human being, the questions it asks makes you unsettled.  You can't help but feel as if you're torn between what is right and what is right. 

The film focuses on the kidnapping of a small girl and the race to find her.  Casey Affleck plays Patrick Kenzie, who along with his girlfriend and partner, Angie Gennaro (Michelle Monaghan), are hired by the family of the girl to augment the investigation.  Since Patrick grew up in the neighborhood, people are more willing to talk to him.  And he knows people the police don't know.  Using his connections, and working in tandem with a pair of cops (played by Ed Harris and John Ashton), he works his way closer and closer to the little girl.

With so many plot twists, I feel like saying much more would damage the film for anyone who has not seen it.  The success of the film is dependent on getting to know the characters in it; this isn't your normal crime drama.  It is as much a study of human character as it is a story of a kidnapping.  It puts the viewer in uncomfortable situations where you are forced to question what you believe and what you hold true to yourself. 

Gone Baby Gone is a great movie.  The critic in me can see that very easily.  However, it is not an easy film to watch (I think it'd be impossible in some circumstances), and the human in you will no doubt leave the theatre breathless, with your mind racing to process everything you've just seen.

4.5 stars, rounded DOWN