Saturday, November 15, 2008

The movie - Gone Baby Gone



When a 4-year-old girl goes missing in Dorchester, one of Boston's toughest hoods, private investigators Patrick Kenzie and Angela Gennaro (Casey Affleck and Michelle Monaghan) reluctantly agree to take the case. But the investigation proves tougher, riskier and more complex than they could have imagined. Ben Affleck's directorial debut, adapted from the Dennis Lehane novel, also stars Ed Harris, Morgan Freeman and Amy Ryan (in her first Oscar-nominated role).
Starring: Morgan Freeman, Casey Affleck
Director: Ben Affleck
Genre: Thrillers
Format: Widescreen ...
Language: English
Subtitles: French ...
Awards: Academy Award® Nominee ...
Rated R For violence, drug content and pervasive language

I watched this movie tonight with my husband. I didn't realise that my heart would be racing all the way through, that I would be spellbound by a cast and cinematography that was so impressive. I simply saw Ben Affleck's name as the Director and thought, I'd like to see what he can do with this.

Well, I thought he did an excellent job of pulling a fantastic film off. Firstly, his brother Casey I thought was extraordinary as the main character. Certainly, acting is a family gift. And the support actress, Amy Ryan was fabulous. The whole film was so real it was surreal.

The ending, which I don't want to give away, raised so many questions and I asked my husband what he thought the whole film was about and he responded, "how life is complicated and there are sometimes no black and white, right and wrong answers, just judgements made in the moment based on the information you get at the time."

This movie stirred something deep inside me as a parent, to want to hold my kids tighter, to love them more, to protect them more diligently and to ensure that their lives are full of love and sunshine.

Definitely a five star rating from me, even though I hate suspense films because I find them emotionally draining and on a deep level disturbing. This film kind of reminds me of the Butterfly Effect in so much as it asks the hard questions about life and leaves you with so many unanswered questions that cause you to censor your own ideals, emotions and beliefs.