Movie Review: Gone Baby Gone – Starring Casey Casey Affleck, Michelle Monaghan, Morgan Freeman, Ed Harris & John Ashton

Movie: Gone Baby Gone (R)
Released: October 19th, 2007
Runtime: 1 hr. 54 min.
Ticket Price: $7.50 Matinee
Starring: Casey Affleck, Michelle Monaghan, Morgan Freeman, Ed Harris & John Ashton
Director: Ben Affleck

Rating: Worth a Full Price Ticket –

Synopsis: A 4-year-old girl from Dorchester, a tough neighborhood in Boston, goes missing. The child’s aunt pleads with a local private investigator to take the case, because he has contacts the police don’t have. He ends up risking everything to bring the little girl back.

Review: Gone Baby Gone is based on Dennis Lahane’s Gone, Baby, Gone and was turned into a screenplay by Ben Affleck and Aaron Stockard. Affleck also directed and served as a producer. The story brings up some interesting questions of what is right or wrong and who gets to decide.

Casey Affleck (The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, Ocean’s Eleven), the younger brother of Ben, puts in a terrific performance as the private investigator in search of the missing girl. The ups and downs, twists and turns and decisions his character has to make along the way give you something to think about. Ultimately, I would’ve only done one thing different, but the questions and situations he faces do point out how people can justify just about anything.

Michelle Monaghan (The Heartbreak Kid, Mission: Impossible III) is very good as his investigative partner and girlfriend. Her character doesn’t even want to take the case, because she doesn’t want to find the little girl in a “dumpster” or after being abused for days. Who would, but after talking with the mother and aunt of the missing girl, she can’t say no. The range of emotions her character portrays is wide and you believe her at every point.

Morgan Freeman (Evan Almighty, Batman Begins) and Ed Harris (A History of Violence, Radio) are just what you would expect. They bring a gravitas and credibility to the proceedings.

The side characters are really good as well. Affleck seems to have a knack for this type of thing and has put together an interesting portrait of Boston neighborhood life. The bar patrons, reporters, friends and others all feel real.

Even though Gone Baby Gone moves along slowly, it maintains your interest all the way through. It is most definitely worth a full price ticket and a trip to your local theater.

What did you think about Gone Baby Gone?