Viewed: GONE BABY GONE

Some films intend being well-meaning and touching and sentimental and more. Gone Baby Gone tries to be all that and...that's where it falters - you need to tell the story as it is - not get into exposition about what you feel. It's a tricky lane since this melodrama seems effective and it can work for many, but eventually it robs the film of an authentic story-telling and that's how this film is.

A story about a detective and his girlfriend taking a case of a missing girl changes their life. It tries to show a society that is living on fringes. It takes a peek into the lives of cops - good ones and bad ones and 'mixed' ones. All that is good, but the telling has to 'show not tell'. There is good amount of 'visual action', however the moments seem contrived at times. The lead characters are well fleshed-out, though when major emotional shifts occur they are not too convincing; the problem is more with other characters where the majority are made to be 'cute' and that never works.

Ben Affleck directed the film. He wrote the screenplay, like he did for 'The Good Will Hunting', for which he won a lot of acclaim. Well both these films are over-rated. When you tell than show, the film is never very effective.


Based on a novel by Dennis Lehane
Writers: Ben Affleck & Aaron Stockard
Director: Ben Affleck


Rating **1/2

[Max ****]


[Viewed on 26th March at Hampden, courtesy rental DVD; the day the crazy blizzard came to Colorado! Thankfully, didn't last as long as it was expected to]