Following on from yesterday, another Boston-set movie and Ben Affleck’s directorial debut, which he also co-wrote. It stars his Oscar winning brother Casey Affleck, who was also in “Good Will Hunting”. “Gone Baby Gone” is a multi-award winning crime drama based on a book by modern crime writer Dennis Lehane. It’s fantastically dark, gritty and, most importantly, heavily character driven.
The film has a chequered past, especially in the UK, as it was due to come out just around the time that Madeleine McCann went missing. It’s about a detective couple who feature in several of Lehane’s books. They are hired to investigate the disappearance of a young girl. The girl bears a striking resemblance to McCann so the film was shelved for a year in the UK. When it was finally released it passed by almost unnoticed.
You can tell from the very start that this is a quality film. It’s an amazingly strong story that delves into working-class Boston and the city’s criminal underbelly. It’s not just about the mystery, it focuses on the often forgotten people of Boston. It takes the time to tell each character’s story. As such it’s also a great relationship drama as the detective couple (the girlfriend/partner is beautifully played by Michelle Monaghan) struggle to deal with the pressures the case puts on them.
All the cast are absolutely superb – it’s the kind of dream cast an actor would choose for his directorial debut. As well as Affleck and Monaghan it has Ed Harris, Morgan Freeman and Amy Ryan (who you may remember from “The Wire”) just to name a few.
Ryan was nominated for an Oscar and won a load of other awards for her jaw-dropping performance as the delinquent mother of the missing girl. If you like crime dramas or even just people dramas this is a must-see.
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