In Continuum.

Gone Baby Gone marks Ben Affleck's directorial debut, not to mention adapting his favorite book with the same name by Dennis Lehane, the same author for the book Mystic River which, interestingly, was also directed by an actor-turned-director, Clint Eastwood. Anyway, the story tells of a boyfriend/girlfriend investigator team of Patrick Kenzie (Casey Affleck) and Angie Gennaro (Michelle Monaghan). They are approached by Lionel and Beatrice McCready (Titus Welliver and Amy Madigan), whose young niece Amanda has been kidnapped. Though unsure of what he can do to help solve the case, Patrick accepted their offer reluctantly. However, his investigation in the case seems to be heavily plagued by obstacles, with the chief of police in Boston, Jack Doyle (Morgan Freeman), being completely against his involvement. That is not to mention the two police chiefs heading the investigations themselves, Remy Bressant (Ed Harris) and Nick Poole (John Ashton). Even Amanda's own mother, Helene (Amy Ryan) was reluctant to be involved in the case at all, which eventually led to a crucial twist in a simple kidnapping case into something grander and more sinister. 

Gone Baby Gone is a powerful film that deals with, like the previously reviewed film, a topic that is hard to stomach. Kidnapping itself for random is one thing, but the movie also shows the other side of kidnapping, when a child is being kidnapped not for monetary gains but sexually related reasons. This film does not present the kind of twists that jumps at you out of the screen because the screenplay says so, but relies heavily on moral conundrums. With the characters, you start to question what is right and what is wrong, and what you would have done in the same situation. Of course, to reveal these moral conundrums would reveal too much about the plot and the twist towards the end of the film, though it is not going to be difficult for a sharp viewer to predict the ending. The author of the book, Dennis Lehane, seems to rely on a certain formula for his stories, and that alone is going to help you to solve this case prior to all the characters in the film. Which may be why various aspects of the film reminded me of Mystic River, a film also loaded with moral conundrums. 

What sets this film apart from most of the other films out there today is probably how director Ben Affleck managed to blur the lines between the right and the wrong as you start to question the acts of the characters. It does not have a clear line drawn between the two polar extremes, but elected to present themselves to you in a ethical dilemma that is difficult to resolve. It is a very mature film from a very young director who doesn't have a lot of films under his belt to boot - in fact, none. The approach to this material was very mature, very professional, and the details were obviously taken care of and handled with the highest regards. The special thing about this film is perhaps the uncompromising perspective of what is right and what is moral, especially when the two do not coincide with one another. 

This film fits together like a jigsaw puzzle, and does not treat the audience as passive receivers of information either. However, I think there are plot holes in the story, though I have yet to have a clear idea of what they are as of yet. I doubt, though, that realizing them is going to diminish the power of this film, simply because of what it has to offer to a genre that little directors have dared to touch, not to mention doing a good job at it. The problem with reviewing a film with a plot twist is that you can never talk too much about it, or else it might spoil the viewing experience for a lot of people. However, all I can say is that the ending of the film is definitely going to satisfy a lot of people, like those that thought the ending of No Country for Old Men was too abrupt and sudden. It leaves the audience with a question mark on top of their heads, and you wonder if anything is going to happen after the credits start to roll. You wish for something good to happen, but you are unsure of it. Anyway, it's an ending with a lot of room for discussion, a very interesting discussion it is going to be. 

Casey Affleck has always given me the impression that he is a very deadpan actor. He doesn't show a lot of emotions in his roles, but it's not like he needs to do that a lot in this film. He does the job in a decent way, injects enough power and emotions into the role but not great enough to be nominated or anything. His co-star Michelle Monaghan suffered from a bad character development, always being there but never cared for by the audience. She does things that I didn't personally understand why, and she neither helped to push forward the film or to do anything particularly memorable or sensible at all. It seems like her character in the film took off from the one in the book, and it is a pity that such a talent should be wasted on such an under-developed character. Other cast delivers, and it shouldn't be surprising as it has Ed Harris and Morgan Freeman to helm the supporting department. Morgan Freeman has the ability to look at the camera with a dead face and get nominated for any awards out there. Ed Harris has a face of a transformer, turning from a happy man to an angry man with a blink of an eye, and he does every one of those emotions so very well. Amy Ryan was nominated for her role as the trailer trash in this film, despite the fact that she appeared on screen for less than half an hour. Still, her performance was note-worthy, and a definite black horse at this year's Oscars.

With his first feature film, Ben Affleck has gained more than just the fame he already has, but a lot of respect as a filmmaker as well. His treatment of the subject material is both top-notch and breathtaking. The strength in the film's subject matter and the intelligence and perceptiveness with which it is approached make it a black horse of last year's race to the top ten lists of critics around America. It's not a great or awesome film for me personally, but it is definitely a very strong and very solid film from a director that gave me a very pleasant surprise. 

8.5/10