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Fall Movie Review Roundup: Gone Baby Gone
GONE BABY GONE (A-)
Gone Baby Gone joins a rapidly growing list of the best films of 2007, and it is one of the best movies of its kind, reaching far beyond standard "whodunit?" territory into much larger, messier questions like "whydunit?" and "isitokthattheydunit?" It is a film without any easy choices, and every new wrinkle leaves the characters and the viewer with two options -- bad and worse. It's a tough movie, and a great one.
Oh, and did I mention it was directed by this man?
Yes, Ben Affleck directed Gone Baby Gone, and adapted Dennis Lehane's novel with Aaron Stockard. It's a complete success, and not just for an actor-turned-director, not just for a first-time director, not just for the guy who starred in Gigli.
Lehane also wrote Mystic River, another crime drama set in Boston. It seemed like everyone involved in that film springboarded off Sean Penn's grandstanding performance, pushing the proceedings into nearly operatic territory. Gone Baby Gone goes much more low-key, much more natural, much more tightly wound. I'm not saying it's a better film (though I'm also not saying it isn't), I loved Mystic River. But it's scrappier and nastier and feels more true.
A lot of that credit goes to the cast. Casey Affleck has been giving quiet, scene-stealing performances for a while now, without garnering a whole lot of attention. I guarantee he was not the actor the studio would have dreamed of for this role (wonder how he got the part?). But he is most definitely the right choice. A more traditional performer -- a Brad Pitt, a Paul Walker, yes, a Ben Affleck -- wouldn't have been nearly as surprising, because you've seen those people go through these motions before. With a relative unknown in the "reluctant hero" role, you're watching a true underdog, a true wild card. His age, slight build, and baby face make him seem like a little kid in a room full of tough guys, and that dynamic gives the movie a lot of its massive punch.
The other key performer here is Amy Ryan, who will certainly get an Oscar nod, bluntly exposing the actual human being behind Jerry Springer moms. She's extremely raw playing a fairly despicable woman. I had seen Ryan on The Wire (which Lehane writes for), and didn't even realize this was the same actress, that's how far into the character she disappears. I saw Gone a few weeks back, and it was followed by a Q & A with the Brothers Affleck and Ryan. When she walked in to the theater, I was shocked. It was almost a disappointment to learn that she is so attractive and appealing.
Ed Harris and Morgan Freeman are less surprising because they simply do really well what they do really well -- Harris barks a lot, Freeman gives grandfatherly speeches. But having these icons play overly familiar roles definitely pays off for the film, as you'll see.
Shining in smaller roles are John Ashton (Marvin from Midnight Run, one of the kick-assiest movies of all time) and Amy Madigan -- they both look wonderfully rough here. Furthering the Wire connections, Michael K. Williams (Omar!) is great in an even smaller role. Michelle Monaghan is the only actor not given anything particularly substantial to chew on, and her role as Casey's girl Friday didn't do much for me. It might just be that even without makeup, she looks too glammy for her surroundings -- Affleck and his crew give you a lot of great, mangled faces to look at around the margins.
The film introduces us to the Boston neighborhood by giving us shots of the type of people you never see on the big screen, even as extras -- the obese, the pock-marked, the busted. Apparently Affleck used only locals, and it shows. The movie is packed with regional flavor, and none of the accents seem like drama class exercises the way they sometimes did in Mystic River ("Is dat my dawtah in deah?!").
Gone Baby Gone is not a feel-good film. It doesn't offer happy endings, but rather queasy, questionable feelings that linger long after the incredible final shot. It's a hard film, but not a hard film to love.
If I may let my inner Gene Shalit run wild here -- Gone Baby Gone is great, baby, great.
Pat,
The Boston accent is, hands down, one of the hardest American accents to
nail down. Look at Robin Williams in Good Will Hunting for a good example
of how people tend to fuck it up. He gets all the obvious ones, like "cah"
instead of "car" and "aaht" instead of "art." But give him words of more
than a two syllables and he starts to roll his r's like Patrick Stewart.
"Do you think I know the first thing about you, because I read Oliver
Twist?" It's tougher than most people think.
jgb,
I read all the Lehane books too, and I can tell you Affleck really nailed
the Kenzie/Gennaro dynamic. I wish he had started in order and done all of
the books, but I can understand wanting to start with GBG. The ending is
just amazing. And Affleck really delivers on the two most important parts
-- the raid on the 'house of horrors' and the ending.
JGB,
I wanted to see this movie, I thought it looked pretty good. I think maybe
I will convince some one to go see it with me =)