Gone Baby Gone: Afflecks Clear Path For Awards Season?

The redemption of Ben Affleck is nearly complete. After years of squandering whatever…. ahem, good will he gained by becoming a rags to riches story with his “Good Will Hunting” partner Matt Damon, Affleck soon became one of Hollywood’s most loathed men. This you know.

Poor role choices and accompanying paydays were suspect, “Gigli,” and his Bennifer-gate relationship with JLO were all poor decisions that turned the public against him; everyone assumed Damon was the talented one and Affleck was the mook who tagged along (and so far he hadn’t proved anything otherwise). So the tabloid star wisely retreated and in the ensuing years of near-silence (aside from quietly marrying Jennifer Garner) he took a few notable supporting roles (the overrated “Hollywoodland”) and co-wrote and directed an adaptation of “Mystic River” crime-novel author Dennis Lehane’s “Gone Baby Gone.”

The most striking thing about Affleck’s directorial debut is its raw, unpolished look and the choice of downtrodden Boston locales full of age and authentic grime; lead actors barely wear make-up (the otherwise gorgeous Michelle Monaghan looks positively done down), extras are real locals and realistically fug. In a recent New York Times article on this very subject, Affleck talked about hiring overdone SAG – screen actors guild – extras because he had to and then sticking them in a corner to earn their paychecks so he could focus on shooting local folks in bars and street corners and the film is replete with these odd and natural looking types.

It’s a small gesture overall, but a refreshing one that earns him tons of points straight off the bat and sets the tone for a film that tries its hardest to be honest, truthful and faithful to its gritty material and setting.

A twist-prone child abduction tale, “Gone Baby Gone” stars Ben’s younger brother Casey as a private dick hired to augment the investigation of a local girl who has gone missing. Ed Harris plays a morally ambiguous cop, Morgan Freeman his characteristically stoic boss and Amy Ryan (“The Wire”) impresses as the white trash mother whose daughter has suddenly vanished from the neighborhood.

Affleck’s direction is unadorned, subtle and workman-like and Casey shines in a performance that is nuanced with resonant levels of fear and self-doubt (a more A-list star might have played this more heroically; one particular scene opposite Morgan Freeman is particularly outstanding).

While the brothers’ work is exemplary, the film starts to gets the better of itself when it gets bogged down in the suspense/thriller conceits that many of these novels feel like they need to tout in order to keep audiences interested, but ends up feeling like the cliche twists we’ve been conditioned to expect.

Even then, there’s still redemption to be found. “Gone Baby Gone” starts out like a genuine and realistic nightmare (losing a child and its impact on the families and community) and then turns into a bit more by the numbers twisting thriller. But the unexpected epilogue is the heartbreaking knock-out punch; a morality play that is visceral, emotionally piercing and quietly devastating.

Oscar Nods?
If you remember our fall film preview we didn’t give this one much of a shake, but it definitely surpassed expectations. Do we personally feel like the Affleck’s are amazing in their respective roles of director and lead actor? (see our headline) Not exactly, they’re impressive in both their rights and their are others we’d champion for the five nominations spots before them, but Hollywood loves to trumpet their own; especially actor’s turned directors.

The Oscar committee also loves thriller dramas like this – not to mention “Mystic River”-like Lehane novels. While we’re not saying either of them will score nominations (though the younger brother likely will; but his stronger performance and Oscar nod should be “The Assassination of Jesse James”) for either of their roles in “Gone Baby Gone,” but we’re saying don’t be surprised if it happens. [B+]
“Gone Baby Gone” trailer