"Gone Baby Gone" is by and large a notable piece of work, a strong directing debut by actor Ben Affleck that highlights attention-getting performances by Casey Affleck, the director's brother, and Tony Award nominee Amy Ryan.
But, as adapted from the novel by Dennis Lehane, this brooding, somber film is also ragged around the edges and not without problematic aspects. Two shadows from the past hang over it, one affecting the kind of film it is and the other the way we perceive it.
Lehane's 1998 genre piece is set in Boston and involves private detectives Patrick Kenzie (Affleck) and Angie Gennaro (an effective Michelle Monaghan) in a tale of possible child molestation and the power and limitations of the police. If that sounds familiar, it's because "Gone Baby Gone" was in effect a dress rehearsal for Lehane's 2001 breakthrough novel, "Mystic River," magisterially filmed by Clint Eastwood.
It is, of course, completely unfair to compare a master director at his peak with someone just starting out, but the reality is that those similarities make it difficult not to do so. And what Eastwood accomplished with comparable material can't help but shine a spotlight on those areas in which Affleck could have used a steadier hand and made less intrusive choices.
One superlative choice the director did make was to hire his brother Casey, who gives the kind of breakthrough performance his role in "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford" was supposed to be but wasn't.
The younger Affleck brings a surprising gravitas and steel to the role of a young private investigator who, along with his girlfriend, is just getting started in the business in Boston's rough Dorchester neighborhood. His performance touches all the bases from tough to sensitive and feels authentic.
"Gone Baby Gone" opens in the immediate aftermath of the disappearance of 4-year-old Amanda McCready. The police, led by Capt. Jack Doyle (Morgan Freeman) of the Crimes Against Children unit, are doing all they can, but the little girl's Aunt Bea (Amy Madigan) is not satisfied.
She comes to investigators Kenzie and Gennaro because she knows they have access to people in the neighborhood who won't talk to the police. Gennaro has a bad feeling about taking the case, but Kenzie says their presence can't hurt. Famous last words.
