Gone Baby Gone

We went and saw the critically acclaimed movie Gone Baby Gone last weekend. It’s another crime thriller set in the hard parts of South Boston. The movie’s based on the novel of the same name by Dennis Lehane, and tells the story of a young girl who has been kidnapped. The girl’s aunt hires private investigators Patrick Kenzie (Casey Affleck) and Angie Gennaro (Michelle Monaghan) to use their local knowledge and connections to assist the police in the investigation.

This is done against the wishes of the police and against the advice of the husband. So the investigation continues, revealing fresh layers of corruption and wrongdoing at every turn. It’s a bleak film, that resonates around the opening thoughts of Kenzie’s narration, that it’s the things we can’t control (like where we’re born) that define us as people. A story this full of moral ambiguity and torturing personal losses at the hands of dearly held ideals should come as no surprise to viewers familiar with Lehane’s work. Indeed film audiences will remember the adaptation of his novel Mystic River into a feature film starring Sean Penn and directed by Clint Eastwood. Gritty crime drama is Lehane’s calling card and in addition to his body of novels he has contributed to HBO’s outstanding series The Wire.

While there is no surprise in the depth, detail and moral questioning of Lehane’s work, there is plenty in this movie to surprise and delight the cinema goer. Casey Affleck lives up to the promise and excitement generated by his turn in The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford. In fact, he naturally fills the position of leading man with a quiet confidence and assurance that has the viewer believing in his version of Kenzie from the start. Kenzie is a subtle and mostly subdued character, navigating a world of moral and legal ambiguity that would leave lesser people in pieces. He straddles the divide between the community and the law, and in doing so spends a great deal of his time associating with less than savoury characters. But there is no judgement in this. These are his people. His neighbours, his friends, his high-school rivals. He knows them and they him. It’s only in this way that he is able to get people to open up, to talk to him, to tell him things that they would otherwise leave unsaid.

The same is true of Monaghan’s Gennaro. She is Kenzie’s partner, professionally and privately. She grew up in the same world and now shares the same life. One of the most important and fascinating plotlines within this story is to see how the investigation impacts on their relationship. As they wrestle with the moral questions placed in front of them and struggle to cope with the consequences of their actions, the fundamental nature of their understanding of themselves and each other shifts.

The most surprising (and therefore, satisfying) thing, however, is the work of the older Affleck, Ben. He shows a subtle touch behind the camera, allowing the story to develop naturally and relying on his actors to communicate with engaged viewers, rather than signposting the whole thing for us. It’s refreshing to be treated as intelligent by almost any director, it’s impressive for a new director to have the confidence and skill to do the same.

All in all, Gone Baby Gone is a fantastic, although disturbing film. It’s not for everybody, but if you can handle crime drama so gritty that the sense of filth is all pervasive, then you’ll be ready for this.

~ by wrothful on April 23, 2008.