#318: GONE BABY GONE

2007
Directed by Ben Affleck

Mystery, Thriller

Ben Affleck had a rather patchy time from the late 90s to mid 2000s, where it seemed he was the target of bloodthirsty critics, and to be fair he had a string of bad roles and flop films, including Gigli, Pearl Harbour and Daredevil. Affleck actually began his film career on a high, with his screenwriting credit for Good Will Hunting earning him an Oscar. Perhaps it was this string of critical bashings that urged Ben Affleck to get back behind the camera. Gone Baby Gone is his directorial debut, as well as seeing Affleck write the screenplay, adapted from the novel by Dennis Lehane. Also for the record, I've always been a fan of Ben Affleck!

Gone Baby Gone is a ruthless Mystery Thriller. Ben doesn't appear on screen, but casted his excellent younger brother Casey Affleck in the leading role, alongside Michelle Monaghan, Morgan Freeman and two knockout performances from Ed Harris and Amy Ryan. A 6 year old girl goes missing and our two leading amateur detectives are asked to find her by the family who live in the same neighbourhood. Like any great detective movie, it leads the characters (and thus the viewer) down a rabbit hole of seedy characters, drugs, crime, murder, villains and police corruption. Ben Affleck films in a raw, grainy style, taking inspiration from hit HBO show The Wire (of which two of its regular cast appear). For the most part it looks and works very well. There are few instances where I thought the violence and the tough guy attitude of Casey Affleck's characters got a bit much. And whilst the mystery is very enjoyable and well written, I didn't feel like I was watching anything especially original. Gone Baby Gone definitely takes its cues from David Fincher's Se7en. But for Ben Affleck, he not only rediscovered his talents, but got the critics back on his side too. 7/10.