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GONE BABY GONE
(2007)
Producer: Alan Ladd, Jr., Dan Rissner, Sean Bailey
Director: Ben Affleck
Screenplay: Ben Affleck & Aaron Stockard
(Based upon the novel by Dennis Lehane)
Starring: Casey Affleck, Michelle Monaghan, Morgan Freeman, Ed Harris, John Ashton, Amy Ryan, Amy Madigan, Titus Welliver...
Available on DVD.
Rated R: violence, language, drug content
Color. 114 minutes.
Genre: Mystery/crime
Reviewed by Cherie Jung
The statistics for missing children are staggering and dismal. Once gone, few are ever returned. At least not alive. GONE BABY GONE begins with a desperate aunt (Amy Madigan) hiring private detectives Patrick Kenzie and Angie Gennaro (Casey Affleck, Michelle Monaghan) from the "neighborhood" to "augment" the city-wide police search for her missing 4-year-old niece who has already been missing for 3 days. Statistically speaking, the little girl isn't likely to be found alive.
The missing girl's mother Helene McCready (Amy Ryan) seems to relish the press attention as she pleads with the kidnappers to return her little girl. She claims she was only out of the apartment for half an hour watching TV with a friend and during that time someone snatched little Amanda (Madeline O'Brien). Yet when questioned by Kenzie and Gennaro, and later more police, Det. Remy Bressant (Ed Harris) and Det. Nick Poole (John Ashton), she is less than forthcoming with her answers. All involved begin to suspect that Helene's version of the incident may not be as close to the truth as they would like.
As the investigation progresses, there are plenty of twists and turns. Some plausible, some not so plausible. In the end, however, the movie will hold most viewers attention and cause some uncomfortable moments both during the unraveling of the case and in its conclusion. The world in which young Amanda lived is not one most would choose for a young child. The mother is neglectful, at best. The neighborhood is a depressing environment filled with lost souls, drugs, sex, and violence...and an almost palpable feeling of hopelessness. The opening scenes of the neighborhood are haunting. Some of the inhabitants of the neighborhood are terrifying. It's almost like a nightmare that you can't seem to wake up from...
Since I viewed the movie in DVD format (11 June, 2008) I found the similarities between the plot and the actual kidnapping of 4-year-old Madeleine McCann last year in Portugal an eerie coincidence. As you may remember, the McCann family was on holiday when young Madeleine disappeared from their hotel suite while her parents were dining nearby -- but not nearby enough to prevent little Madeleine from going missing.
It's a sad business when a child goes missing. GONE BABY GONE is a disturbing movie, but one that is worth viewing. No wonder it was nominated for so many awards.
If you like the movie you may want to read the book. Click here to read a review of the novel GONE BABY GONE. A second review of the novel is available here.
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