Gone Baby Gone

Ben Affleck's directorial debut is quite a good one. His Gone Baby Gone captures all the grit of a tough section of Boston. The script was written by Affleck and Aaron Stockard and adapted from a novel by Dennis Lehane (Mystic River).

Patrick Kenzie (Casey Affleck) and his partner/lover Angie Gennaro (Michele Monaghan) run a private eye business. They specialize in finding missing persons. But their toughest case comes their way when Beatrice (Amy Madigan) and Lionel (Titus Welliver) McCready ask them to find their missing four year old niece. The girl's mother Helene (Amy Ryan) is an alcoholic and drug addict but she does seem genuinely concerned about her little girl. Morgan Freeman plays Jack Doyle, the top cop on the case. A number of years ago his own daughter was murdered. Also involved in the case is fiery Detective Remy Bressant (Ed Harris).

I can't say much about the plot. There are many twists and turns and some really unexpected things happen. But I can assure you that B. Affleck is a filmmaker to watch. The acting is, for the most part, good. Ed Harris is terrific as Bressant. His is my favorite performance in the film. The man is just filled with so much rage. Ryan is excellent as the strung out mother of the girl. And when isn't Freeman good. Madigan is great in her small role as is her screen husband Welliver. A. Affleck is better in this than he was in Jesse James but I still can't say that I loved his performance. And Monaghan is underused. Her role is not that well written.

All in all, I recommend this film. It is a good, taut thriller. But it is not as good as Mystic River, which I consider a classic. Gone Baby Gone is a good film but it is far from a masterpiece.