Ben’s brother, Casey Affleck and Michelle Monaghan play private investigators that are hired privately, after the mysterious disappearance of a four-year old girl named Amanda. The two of them are led down many false roads in their search, until the truth rears its ugly little head. The movie challenges you to decide the right and wrongs in a situation that is all bad. Where do you draw the line when it comes to the law? Gone Baby Gone is a smart picture that is shown through the eyes of Casey Affleck’s character and keeps you guessing until the end.
Gone Baby Gone out in theaters this past October, is now available on DVD and Blu-ray. The DVD comes out just in time for the Oscars. Amy Ryan who plays the missing daughter’s mother, is up for a Best Supporting Actress and is well deserving of the statue. Her portrayal is tough to watch at the times but is just one of the many great performances in his film.
Along with the film, we have some great bonus features as well. The two documentaries give us a behind the scenes on both making the movie and the process of creating these strong complex characters. One of the biggest surprises is how many of the bit players are not actors at all. They are the real people who live in the Boston neighborhood and they aren’t just the non-speaking parts. It’s perhaps things like this that gives this film the realism
The six deleted scenes are interesting but don’t really add anything to the film. The biggest disappointment is the promoted “eye-opening” extended ending. I don’t really see anything amazing about this extended ending. To me, having a different voice-over and having it slightly extended, doesn’t really add any more insight to the film.
The audio commentary by director Ben Affleck and writer Aaron Stockard, add more insight then any of the deleted scenes provide. Everything from a blurred cameo by Ben Affleck, to where many of the local language come from is all on the audio and really fills the viewer in. I’ve always noticed that the best commentaries are not with the actors but with the creative behind the scenes people. The director and the writer are always the best at telling the audience of the whys and hows on creating a film. It’s fascinating hearing how they tried to find the delicate balance of not revealing too much to the audience.
Gone Baby Gone is one of those rare films that seeps out of the mainstream and surprises. Casey Affleck shines taking the film’s lead and is two for two with his outstanding performance in last year’s, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. Don’t stray away from this film just because it’s directed by Ben Affleck. Pick it up on either DVD or Blu-ray, you are only cheating yourself and who knows, maybe you’ll have a change of heart.
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