Gone Baby Gone is Terrific

“Wow” is the first word that pops into my mind after seeing Gone Baby Gone, a Boston based crime drama about an abducted girl starring Casey Affleck, Ed Harris and Morgan Freeman.

Last night, I got a chance to see a sneak peak at the AMC Boston Common hosted by Eckerd College alumni Dennis Lehane. Lehane, of course is famous for writing crime dramas such as Mystic River, Shutter Island and Gone Baby Gone.

When Gone Baby Gone was being filmed around Boston, there were definitely some question marks. Sure, the screenplay was adapted from the author who wrote one of the best Boston movies of all time (Mystic River). But we also had Ben Affleck making his directorial debut and Casey Affleck starring. Would Ben bring us his moments of excellence as he did with Good Will Hunting or show us the flipside as he did with Jersey Girl? Would Casey use this as his breakout role or would we see he works best playing supporting parts (Ocean’s series)?

Well I am happy to report Boston brought out the best in both Affleck brothers. Casey shined in his role as the detective hired to find the little girl. He definitely stepped it up a notch and may get some consideration for a Best Actor nomination. And Ben worked his magic keeping the audience engaged the entire movie. Harris, Freeman and Michelle Monaghan also gave excellent performances.

Without giving away the plot, there were plenty of twists and turns throughout the experience. Along the way, Ben weaves in a number of moral quandaries about the two sides of right and wrong. I call it an “experience” because the movie is terrific but pretty emotionally draining. Watching a movie about a kidnapped child is not exactly like watching an episode of Saturday Night Live. But if you love crime dramas, Gone Baby Gone needs to top your list for movies to see in 2007.

From a Boston perspective, Boston made for a spectacular backdrop. It is rare for a studio released movie to properly hit the authenticity of Boston. But Gone Baby Gone hit a homerun in that aspect thanks to Affleck’s strong Boston ties. From the supporting cast hand picked for their Boston flavor to the accents, Boston was right on in terms of the movie’s theme.

Gone Baby Gone gets 4.5 out of 5 stars and is one of the best dramas of the year.