DVD
REVIEW: GONE BABY GONE
Review By
Brad Peterson on 02/10/08
Ever since “Good Will
Hunting”, Ben Affleck’s career has been on a downward
spiral. So damaged was his credibility that some questioned
his co-writing credit for “Good Will Hunting”. So what does
Ben Affleck decide to do instead of leaving Hollywood and
start a new career as manager of a Blockbuster video store,
he decides to not only co-write a movie, but also signs up
to direct it. If this movie failed, it would probably be all
over for Affleck. Luckily, Affleck has talent and has
managed to make a compelling and thought provoking drama
that will leave you riveted.
Patrick Kenzie (Casey Affleck) and his girlfriend Angie
Gennaro (Michelle Monaghan) are private detectives who work
one of the toughest neighbors in Boston. They are good at
talking to people that won’t talk to the police. Patrick and
Angie are hired by Bea McCready (Amy Madigan) when her
sister in-law’s 4-year child goes missing. Helene McCready
(Amy Ryan) the mother of the missing child is a strung out
coke head who was doing cocaine at a local bar on the night
that Amada McCready (Madeline O'Brien) went missing. Working
with police detectives Remy Bressant (Ed Harris ) and Nick
Poole (John Ashton), Patrick and Angie trace the
disappearance of Amanda to a local drug lord named Cheese
(Edi Gathegi) who Helene stole money from. Capt. Jack Doyle
(Morgan Freeman) gives the order to exchange Amanda for
Cheese’s money, but all is not what it seems as a series of
twist, that are handled very well, will lead to the true and
will pose Patrick with the biggest moral decision of his
life.
With “Gone Baby Gone” Ben Affleck ups the ante of the
typical kidnapping drama by presenting Patrick with a moral
question which he’s presented with twice. The first time he
fails the second time, he succeeds, but the results are not
what he expects and at the end he is left questioning what
is right and what is wrong. The questions proposed in this
movie will have you running the events through your head to
see what you would do. The twists and turns which are
handled gracefully, will have you on the edge of your seat
as Ben Affleck turns what could have been a regular movie
into a masterful piece of work. Rightfully so, a lot of
people are comparing this movie to Client Eastwood’s “Mystic
River” not only because of the setting and subject matter
but because they are both the mark of excellence in
filmmaking. I personally think “Gone Baby Gone” is the
better movie.
The performance by Casey Affleck was amazing and almost as
good as in “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward
Robert Ford”. Amy Ryan was also very good, but she doesn’t
have enough screen time. Morgan Freeman was as graceful as
ever and Ed Harris which haven’t done anything interesting
since “A History of Violence” was in full form.
If you missed the theatrical release don’t pass up the
opportunity to see this movie on DVD. While the DVD is not
loaded with features, the movie alone is worth the price.
VIDEO:
Widescreen (1.85:1) - Enhanced
For 16x9 Televisions
AUDIO:
English 5.1
Dolby Digital Surround
French/Spanish Language Tracks
Subtitles: English For The Hearing Impaired /French/Spanish
SPECIAL FEATURES:
Commentary by
Writer/Director Ben Affleck and Writer Aaron Stockard.
Going Home: Behind
The Scenes With Ben Affleck - Writer/Director Ben
Affleck and Writer Aaron Stockard discuss how they became
interested in Dennis Lehane‘s novel “Gone Baby Gone“.(7:06)
Capturing
Authenticity: Casting Gone Baby Gone - Ben Affleck
discuses casting and how they used
authentic
locations and real people (non-actors) to
achieve the authenticity of the movie. (8:57)
Deleted Scenes with
optional Commentary by Writer/Director Ben Affleck and
Writer Aaron Stockard - Six deleted scenes are
presented here. The one marketed as the eye-opening extended
ending on the cover of the DVD, with a running time of
(3:45), reveals nothing new.
RATING BREAK DOWN:
| FILM REVIEW |
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VIDEO |
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AUDIO |
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| BONUS
FEATURES |
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Review
By Brad Peterson
brad@smartcine.com
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