Ryan McNeil
Have you ever read a mystery novel where the case seems to be wrapping up, but you still have a good hundred pages to go? Every marker is in place that the puzzle is about to be completed, but even though all the pieces fit – you’re left thinking that the picture is wrong. That’s the formula used to surprising success in GONE BABY GONE.
A child has been abducted in the Boston neighborhood of Dorchester, and the cops are getting nowhere. The family hires local private investigator Patrick Kenzie (Casey Affleck) to see if he can get answers from the sorts of locals who don’t usually talk to cops. Working with, and sometimes directly against Detective Remy Bressant (Ed Harris) and Capt. Jack Doyle (Morgan Freeman), Kenzie uses every trick he can to find the little girl’s whereabouts before it’s too late.
What makes GONE BABY GONE work so well, is the fact that Kenzie looks like he has the case figured out, but the story reloads itself and indeed you notice that there are still a lot of pages left to be read. What likewise sets the film apart, is the plot detail centering around “the right choice”. Without giving too much away, the story takes dead aim at the notion of what is the right choice…and can a choice be more or less right depending on who ultimately benefits from the choice that is made.
Quite honestly, I didn’t expect too much from GONE BABY GONE when it first hit theatres. A so-so title, a watered down MYSTIC RIVER appearance, and directed by Ben “REINDEER GAMES” Affleck. But I must admit misconception, and likewise that I was wrong to write the movie off so early. It’s gritty, well-constructed, and surprisingly good.
And take my advice…if you think you have the case figured out, look at your DVD counter and see how much time you still have left to go.