At this exact moment, when Oscar nominated "Precious: based on the novel Push" is offending communities in New York (see this NY Times article), it's interesting to watch a Boston movie about cokehead parents and abused children. This is the first film we reviewed that features the Orange line, Dudley station, and unapologetically poor white trash. It's excellent... and I mean that in a non-condescending "I liked Precious" sort of way.
This is the first of several Boston films based on depressing Dennis Lehane novels. We're not knocking Mr. Lehane -- his writing portrays a gritty, darker side to Boston than flakey shows like Ally McBeal can even approach... so kudos. It's not all happy endings in this town.
Casey Affleck stars and brother Ben directs in this solid film about the kidnapping of a 4 year old Dorchester girl. The more you learn about the people involved, the worse it gets. Characters here struggle to do the right thing, and unlikely heroes emerge (like the drug dealer who tips off the presence of neighborhood pedophiles). Amy Ryan knocks it out as the self-absorbed, coke head mother of the missing child. You simultaneously are disgusted by her, and quietly rooting for her. This film leaves you questioning the behind-the-scenes of your average feel-good local news coverage.
Like other Lehane films, specifically Mystic River and the soon-to-be-reviewed Shutter Island (coming next week!), you walk away from this movie feeling down on the state of humanity. People make bad choices, and the consequences here are deadly. Both Afflecks give this film its appropriate gravity. We just don't want to stay in this world very long.
You could write a whole dissertation on it's moral complexity, but instead will say this: Gone Baby Gone is a damn good movie.
Final Score = A-
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