Saturday, June 21, 2008

MOVIE: Gone Baby Gone

If I were forced to describe Gone Baby Gone in one word, my word would be: SHAZAAAAAM!

If I were forced to describe Gone Baby Gone in 18 words, they would be: Incredibly powerful morality flick that kept surprising me while giving me a new found respect for the F Bomb.

What I liked: Award-winning acting. (So good in fact that Casey Affleck returns honor to his family name, after brother Ben's all-too-public carnal run-ins with Jenny From The Block!) Grrrrreat pacing, very timely and engaging. Superb directing. Stellar dialog. And a plot that pulled a rare feat by surprising numerous times. Not since The Usual Suspects have I been so unexpectedly caught off guard.

What I didn't like: Without offering any spoilers this is a morality story culminating in a decision the protagonist has to make. While in some Draconian sense I do agree with the reasoning behind the decision, I kept returning to the fact that it is a morality tale, and each of us possesses unique and amorphous morals. Which usually means we are constantly balancing between what we "should do," and what we "want to do." Gone Baby Gone pivots on such a decision and the outcome is quite a noodle scratcher.

Would make a great date flick, if the couple can tolerate the deluge of profanity (which is heard so often that it almost becomes background noise.) Not something any children should be seeing. Definitely worth the price of a rental. Great great great flick. Wish I had caught Gone Baby Gone sooner!

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