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Now I'm in the 200s, I'm having a small shufty with the layout.
First up then...
When 4 year old Amanda is abducted while her mother is out getting high on coke, two private investigators are hired by her uncle to work alongside the police.
The investigators, Patrick and Angie, are at first seen as a hinderance by the cops, but eventually show their worth...
... and eventually uncover a disturbing tale of twisted rules and morals in society that had lead to Amanda's abduction.
Ben Affleck's mystery, based on Aaron Stockard's novel, sadly falls flat at the first hurdle. The major problem is that there is no mystery. I figured out the ending within the first 10 minutes.
The other major problem is the plotholes... they're massive, though no direct plot spoilers in my reviews
What the movie does have is tons of fantastic acting and well written characters and is filled with a great screenplay.
There's also lashings of dark and twisted twists throughout that keep the viewer fixed to the screen. The well written characters that have a great connection to the audience lift the screenplay even higher.
Anyone who's after action will be disappointed, there's only two scenes of more highly charged cinema and they're very short lived, but the movie as a whole is incredibly well charged with emotion and darker subject matters rather than just the typical Hollywood nonsense.
The acting as I said though, is great.
Casey Affleck (brother of director Ben) as Patrick is brilliantly torn between his feelings of guilt and remorse and really shows the story for what it is. His brooding and disturbed take on what's going on around him is fantastic.
Michelle Monaghan as Angie is also a standout role. Sadly though, she's kept off the screen too much, I couldn't help but want to see more of her. Her character isn't built on much either, you get the impression there's a backstory there that wasn't utilised.
Amy Ryan is about the best on show as Amanda's mother. Her take on the cocaine riddled drug runner is almost spot on. Her changes in character throughout the movie are incredibly subtle but still noticeable, she's very good.
Backup comes on the form of Morgan Freeman, Ed Harris and John Ashton as three cops who are also on the case.
First up then...
Review #141: Gone Baby Gone
When 4 year old Amanda is abducted while her mother is out getting high on coke, two private investigators are hired by her uncle to work alongside the police.
The investigators, Patrick and Angie, are at first seen as a hinderance by the cops, but eventually show their worth...
... and eventually uncover a disturbing tale of twisted rules and morals in society that had lead to Amanda's abduction.
Ben Affleck's mystery, based on Aaron Stockard's novel, sadly falls flat at the first hurdle. The major problem is that there is no mystery. I figured out the ending within the first 10 minutes.
The other major problem is the plotholes... they're massive, though no direct plot spoilers in my reviews
What the movie does have is tons of fantastic acting and well written characters and is filled with a great screenplay.
There's also lashings of dark and twisted twists throughout that keep the viewer fixed to the screen. The well written characters that have a great connection to the audience lift the screenplay even higher.
Anyone who's after action will be disappointed, there's only two scenes of more highly charged cinema and they're very short lived, but the movie as a whole is incredibly well charged with emotion and darker subject matters rather than just the typical Hollywood nonsense.
The acting as I said though, is great.
Casey Affleck (brother of director Ben) as Patrick is brilliantly torn between his feelings of guilt and remorse and really shows the story for what it is. His brooding and disturbed take on what's going on around him is fantastic.
Michelle Monaghan as Angie is also a standout role. Sadly though, she's kept off the screen too much, I couldn't help but want to see more of her. Her character isn't built on much either, you get the impression there's a backstory there that wasn't utilised.
Amy Ryan is about the best on show as Amanda's mother. Her take on the cocaine riddled drug runner is almost spot on. Her changes in character throughout the movie are incredibly subtle but still noticeable, she's very good.
Backup comes on the form of Morgan Freeman, Ed Harris and John Ashton as three cops who are also on the case.
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All in all, nowhere near as good as many reviews have said, but the brooding look and the twists and turns in the story are well put together, the acting and characters are also great.
Sadly though, the gaping plotholes and lack of actual mystery let it down. I'd still recommend it though.
My rating: 83%
All in all, nowhere near as good as many reviews have said, but the brooding look and the twists and turns in the story are well put together, the acting and characters are also great.
Sadly though, the gaping plotholes and lack of actual mystery let it down. I'd still recommend it though.
My rating: 83%
