Lehane can write, Ben can direct, Casey can act. Gone Baby Gone is a near perfect novel made it to the big screen as a near perfect movie. A young Casey Affleck and a brilliant Ed Harris show us the dark side of Boston.
Story-wise, I was fully engaged...but it was sometimes hard to do between the awful Boston accents and Casey Affleck mumbling his way through most scenes. Thankfully there were enough twists, turns, and misdirection to keep my attention. The moral quandries presented throughout should stir some inner dialog about what's the best choice amongst only bad options.
God, I forgot what a gut punch watching this movie is. They ought to do one of the other books as a sequel. I think I'm going to change my rating to a 9. Fantastic cast. Great story.
"Kids forgive, they don't judge, they turn the other cheek, and what do they get for it?"
Can't believe I hadn't seen this one before. Gone Baby Gone has a great story and dilemma at the end. Casey Affleck is great and I always love seeing Amy Ryan. We also get Ed Harris, Michelle Monaghan and freaking Morgan Freeman. Also a plus is that I just simply love Boston settings in movies and we get another one here.
Anyway Gone Baby Gone is Ben Affleck's director debut and it is a great one. He clearly knows what he was doing from the get go and he only improved with time.
Gone Baby Gone has a great ending and the road towards the ending is great too. Happy I spotted this one on Netflix before it leaves today.
Phenomenal. The acting was great all around, particularly Ed Harris and Casey Affleck. All the twists are logical and keep the movie interesting and unpredictable. I would have liked to see Patrick and Angie's relationship fleshed out a little bit more and as it would have made for a more emotional ending, but still felt as though the ending was very good. One more thing -- I still don't understand who the bald guy killed in the bathtub.
This is a very nice little film directed by Ben Affleck and starring his brother Casey. Two thinks about the film stand out as they tend to be rare in cinema today: 1) You weren't quite sure when the roller coaster ride was going to be over. At several points in the movie you thought it might have ended but it moved on. More importantly, the extensions were completely natural and did not feel forced. 2) The director left us with a fascinating moral dilemma that is sure to spark conversation after the film ends.
Not very good, really drags on and acting was weak.
it was interestting.6/10
I didn't see it coming but that was such a great movie...
The ultimate modern Trolley Problem on film. Do what's legally and morally (to the character) correct, or divert the trolley so a bunch of people are happy?
Absolutely fucking love this movie. As usual there are only two lines that kick me right in the heart at the end:
Patrick: Is that Mirabelle?
Amanda: Annabelle.
Everyone in Amanda's life got the doll's name wrong enough for the media to repeat that Amanda was carrying a doll named Mirabelle. Then, as Patrick is trying to ask Amanda about her doll, she corrects him and says the doll's name is Annabelle. Cue Alexi Murdoch's haunting song "Through the Dark" as Patrick begins to realize that Doyle might've had a point.
Also, how fucking amazing was Amy Ryan as Helene? I love the fact that Patrick was the only character to see her actually grief-stricken, when everyone else had written her off as an uncaring mom; likely contributing to his decision.
A black and white world in shades of gray... that is, there are rarely completely good choices.
Gone Baby Gone is a captivating film, thanks in large part to its exceptional cast. The performances, especially by Casey Affleck and Michelle Monaghan, are top-notch and draw you into the story. The film's intricate plot is riddled with twists that keep you engaged and guessing until the very end. It's a compelling crime drama that delivers a satisfying dose of mystery and intrigue.
Really not good - had good actors. Unfortunately they couldn't save a film with terrible writing, producing and directing.
Ben Affleck's directorial debut was an instant classic for me. The highlight here is the writing. I haven't read the original novel, so I'm not sure how much credit the Batfleck should get, but in any case, this is a brilliantly paced, hard-hitting mystery. Moral dilemmas in movies often feel superficial, serving more as a plot device for the characters than as a meaningful exploration for the audience. That is not the case here. Thanks to it's clever structure, this movie plants all of the seeds for its moral dilemma without the audience even knowing what the dilemma is. Getting the context before the question makes the finale's reveal that much more effective.
The low level writing is equally brilliant, with virtually every scene packed with memorable moments and dialogue, all of which benefit from fantastic performances. There's multiple darkly comedic exchanges that add a touch of humor to this otherwise heavy story, and the brief moments of action are well staged and punchy. There's also the setting to discuss. From the opening scene, it becomes clear that this depressingly well realized city is as much a character in this story as Patrick Kenzie. I can't speak to how accurate the representation actually is, but it certainly feels real. Also, I might just be a sucker for a Boston accent.
If you like movies that will question morals, I recommend 10/10
"Kids forgive, they don't judge, they turn the other cheek, and what do they get for it?"
The Afflecks sure do know how to show Boston in a light that is interesting, gritty and dark. What from what I have been told, that is close to the real deal. This movie was good, but can tell Ben Affleck was still getting a feel for how to direct movies (which is later pretty much perfected with The Town).
very good acting and an amazing story with a lot of very sad moments but as realistic as it can get, and i love it. Literally everybody loses at the end of the movie x). and, I definitely disagree with Patrick's choice.
Gone Baby Gone was decent. It had a beautiful opening and a lot of the similar sequences later on were likewise really good; the aerial shots and the ones just showing the community all had very nice accompanying music. It bothered me that the TV broadcast's text never looked like it was on an analogue TV like the rest of the image and some of the accents were too hard to understand, necessitating turning on subtitles at times. I felt the twist reveals weren't handled very well as they felt too explanatory with too many flashbacks which took away from the impact they should have had.
I watched the trailer beforehand and it gave everything away. That annoyed me a great deal. So yeah, to me it was already predictable and therefore boring. On the other hand, Casey Affleck is a very underrated actor and I like the message of the film that sometimes the "legal" thing to do is not always the right thing to do. I found that touching and I think we should learn from that message.
Lot of twists, hard to keep up
Shout by saba.BlockedParent2014-10-15T20:43:08Z
A great story, but Casey Affleck didn't work well