Gone Baby Gone

Allowing a movie to end on a thought-provoking note is an unusual way to finish a film; however, in Gone Baby Gone, it’s what makes the movie better than it could have been.

The storyline involves the abduction of a beautiful young girl being parented by a drug-addicted negligent single mother who enjoys the company of a long string of one-night stands. The cops are not totally engaged in the search process, but the media is hyping the situation thanks to the child’s aunt, who also contacts two private detectives and begs them to locate the girl. As the police tell the detectives, there isn’t much hope as it’s Day 3, and everyone knows how critical it is to find a lead—or the missing child—well before that much time elapses.

The story takes place in Boston and uses many neighborhood residents as extras in the film, an unusual casting decision that works. The actors look, act, and talk like real people because they are! The pace is slow as the two detectives work the neighborhood, talking to old high school classmates, neighborhood hookers and pimps, and familiar criminals as they try to find out who took the child, but the film constantly moves toward whatever is coming. Without realizing it, suspense builds, and it’s not just will they find the little girl or is she already dead, but something else that remains just below the surface of the story.

When the film finishes, it leaves a question for the viewer to resolve: is it better to do the right thing for all the wrong reasons, or to do the wrong thing for all the right reasons? I watched the film a week ago and plan to watch it again because now that I know how the film ends, I want to wrestle with that question from within the storyline.

Casey Afflect underplays his leading role, which is surprising as his older brother, Ben, who is the writer/director of this film, often overplays his parts and distracts from the storyline, rather than becoming one with it. Casey is totally believable as the neighborhood guy who’s sort of making it in the adult world, but living on the fringes of being successful. Amy Ryan is the washed-up high school has-been whose daughter goes missing, and she plays the role as if she were born to it, understanding how to look skanky and cry an addict’s tears as she promises God that she will give up drugs if she gets her daughter back alive. Ed Harris and Morgan Freeman are cast in supporting actor roles, but Ed Harris’s performance sells the storyline and adds credibility to the premise of the movie.

The cover promises that “this edge-of-your-seat crime drama … will have you talking long after it’s over,” and, for once, I agree! Although the story is not “edge of your seat,” it will warrant a second look and a serious discussion.