Gone Baby Gone
2007 American neo-noir crime thriller film by Ben Affleck From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Gone Baby Gone is a 2007 American neo-noir crime thriller film directed by Ben Affleck in his directorial debut. Affleck co-wrote the screenplay with Aaron Stockard based on the 1998 novel of the same name by Dennis Lehane. The film stars Casey Affleck and Michelle Monaghan as two Boston private investigators hunting for a young girl abducted from her single mother's apartment in Dorchester. The supporting cast includes Morgan Freeman, Ed Harris, and Amy Ryan. It was the final film to be released by The Ladd Company before its closure on December 19, 2007.
| Gone Baby Gone | |
|---|---|
Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Ben Affleck |
| Screenplay by |
|
| Based on | Gone, Baby, Gone by Dennis Lehane |
| Produced by |
|
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | John Toll |
| Edited by | William Goldenberg |
| Music by | Harry Gregson-Williams |
Production companies | |
| Distributed by | Miramax Films |
Release date |
|
Running time | 114 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $19 million |
| Box office | $34.6 million[1] |
Released on October 19, 2007, Gone Baby Gone was well-received by critics and grossed $34 million worldwide against a $19 million budget. Ben Affleck was lauded for his directing debut by critics, while Amy Ryan received an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress.
Plot
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In Dorchester, Boston, P.I. Patrick Kenzie and his partner and girlfriend Angie Gennaro witness a televised plea by Helene McCready for the return of her abducted four-year-old daughter Amanda, whose favorite doll is Mirabelle. Amid the media frenzy, Amanda's aunt Bea and uncle Lionel hire the detectives to find her.
Patrick and Angie meet with police detectives Remy Bressant and Nick Poole who tell them about Corwin Earle, a known child molester who they consider a suspect. Patrick asks a criminal associate, Bubba, to look for him and also discovers that Helene and her boyfriend Ray are addicts and drug mules for local Haitian drug lord Cheese, and had recently stolen $130,000 from him. After finding Ray has been murdered by Cheese's men, Patrick and Angie join Remy and Nick to find Amanda, who they now believe has been taken by Cheese. Helene reveals she buried the money in Ray’s backyard and tearfully makes Patrick promise he will bring Amanda home alive.
Patrick meets with Cheese and tries to negotiate returning the stolen money in exchange for Amanda, but he denies any involvement in the girl's disappearance. The following day, Captain Jack Doyle reads Patrick a telephone transcript of Cheese calling the station to set up an exchange for the girl.
The exchange at a nearby quarry is botched after a gunfight breaks out, and Cheese is killed. It is believed that Amanda fell into the quarry's pond and drowned; Angie retrieves her doll and returns it to Helene. Doyle, whose own daughter was killed years before, goes into early retirement soon afterwards.
Two months later, a seven-year-old boy is abducted in Everett, a city near Boston, and Patrick receives information from Bubba that Corwin Earle is living with two married cocaine addicts. The two visit the house and Patrick observes evidence of the abducted boy, so returns with Remy and Nick late at night to rescue him.
Before they can enter the house, the woman starts shooting and fatally wounds Nick before chasing Patrick into Corwin's room. He discovers the dead child, executes Corwin as Remy arrives and then kills the woman. The following evening, an intoxicated Remy tries to alleviate Patrick's guilt, confiding that he once planted evidence on an abusive husband to help the man's family escape with Ray's help. Patrick recalls that previously Remy had told him he didn't know Ray.
Following Nick's funeral, Patrick speaks to police officer Devin, telling him that Remy lied to him about knowing Ray. Devin tells him Remy and Doyle knew about Cheese's stolen money before Cheese did. Patrick goads Lionel into meeting him in a bar and pieces together that he and Remy had staged a fake kidnapping to keep the drug money for themselves and to teach Helene a lesson, which Lionel finally admits.
Remy enters the bar wearing a mask and stages a robbery. Patrick realizes it's just a ruse to kill them so he yells about Remy's involvement in Amanda's kidnapping. The bartender shoots Remy, but he flees, pursued by Patrick, but succumbs to his injuries.
While being questioned Patrick realizes Doyle's involvement when he is told the police don't use phone transcripts. Arriving at Doyle's house, Patrick and Angie find Amanda alive and well. He admits his part in the kidnapping and setting up the fake exchange to frame Cheese. When Patrick threatens to make a call, Doyle tries to convince him that Amanda would have a better life with him than with her neglectful mother.
Patrick discusses the choice with Angie, who says she will hate him if he returns Amanda to her mother, making the case that the girl would grow up much safer and happier if they leave her to be raised by Doyle. However, he makes the call regardless as he'd promised Helene and believes Amanda belongs with her mother, despite her bad parenting. Doyle and Lionel are arrested, and Patrick and Angie break up.
Patrick later visits Helene as she is preparing for a date. On discovering she has not arranged for a babysitter, he volunteers. After she leaves, Patrick sits down with Amanda and asks about her doll, Mirabelle, but is told its name is Anabelle. While they both sit together quietly watching TV, he is left to wonder whether returning Amanda to this toxic environment might have been a mistake, as Angie had suggested.
Cast
- Casey Affleck as Patrick Kenzie
- Michelle Monaghan as Angie Gennaro
- Morgan Freeman as Captain Jack Doyle
- Ed Harris as Detective Sergeant Remy Bressant
- John Ashton as Detective Nick Poole
- Amy Ryan as Helene McCready
- Madeline O'Brien as Amanda McCready
- Amy Madigan as Beatrice "Bea" McCready
- Titus Welliver as Lionel McCready
- Slaine as Bubba Rogowski
- Edi Gathegi as Cheese
- Matthew Maher as Corwin Earle
- Mark Margolis as Leon Trett
- Michael K. Williams as Devin Amronklin
- Jimmy LeBlanc as Chris Mullen
- Sean Malone as Skinny Ray Likanski
Production
Filming took place on site in Boston (mainly South Boston) and extras were often local passers-by. Other locations used include the former Quincy Quarries.[2]
Release
Released on October 19, 2007, the film grossed $20.3 million in the U.S. and Canada and $14.3 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $34.6 million against its $19 million budget.[1]
The UK release was originally set for December 28, 2007, but was pushed back to June 6, 2008, due to the disappearance of Madeleine McCann.[3] The Malaysian release was originally set for September 20, 2007, but was postponed to March 27, 2008, due to the kidnapping and murder of eight-year-old Nurin Jazlin.
Reception
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Critical response
Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports that 94% of 184 critics gave the film positive reviews, with an average rating of 7.80/10. The website's critics consensus reads: "Ben Affleck proves his directing credentials in this gripping dramatic thriller, drawing strong performances from the excellent cast and bringing working-class Boston to the screen."[4] Metacritic assigned the film an average score of 72 out of 100, based on 34 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[5]
Peter Travers of Rolling Stone raved "The brothers Affleck both emerge triumphant in this mesmerizing thriller."[6] Patrick Radden Keefe criticized the film for overstating the case in an otherwise laudable attempt to "capture Boston in all its sordid glory," writing that "The result is not so much what Mean Streets did for New York as what Deliverance did for Appalachia."[7]
Ryan's performance in particular was singled out for acclaim, resulting in wins for the Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress and National Board of Review Award for Best Supporting Actress, as well as nominations for the Academy Award, Golden Globe Award, and Screen Actors Guild Award.
In an issue of Vrij Nederland, Dutch critic and writer Arnon Grunberg called the book good, but the movie better, saying "Gone Baby Gone might not be a perfect film, but it's definitely an important one, if only to raise the question: 'What is home?'"[8]
Top 10 lists
The film appeared on 65 critics' top ten lists of the best films of 2007.[9][10]
- 2nd – Christy Lemire, Associated Press[11]
- 4th – Ben Lyons, The Daily 10
- 6th – Richard Roeper, At the Movies with Ebert & Roeper
- 6th – Michael Medved, The Best and Worst of 2007
- 7th – James Berardinelli, ReelViews
- 8th – Noel Murray, The A.V. Club
- 9th – Keith Phipps, The A.V. Club
Awards and nominations
| Award | Category | Subject | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Academy Award | Best Supporting Actress | Amy Ryan | Nominated |
| Alliance of Women Film Journalists Association Award | Best Supporting Actress | Won | |
| Austin Film Critics Association Award | Best First Film | Ben Affleck | Won |
| Boston Society of Film Critics Award | Best New Filmmaker | Won | |
| Best Supporting Actress | Amy Ryan | Won | |
| Best Acting Ensemble | The entire cast | Nominated | |
| Broadcast Film Critics Association Award | Best Supporting Actress | Amy Ryan | Won |
| Chicago Film Critics Association Award | Best Supporting Actress | Nominated | |
| Most Promising Filmmaker | Ben Affleck | Won | |
| Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Award | Best Supporting Actress | Amy Ryan | Nominated |
| Detroit Film Critics Society Award | Best Supporting Actress | Nominated | |
| Florida Film Critics Circle Award | Best Supporting Actress | Won | |
| Golden Globe Award | Best Supporting Actress | Nominated | |
| Hollywood Film Festival Award | Breakthrough Director of the Year | Ben Affleck | Won |
| Houston Film Critics Association Award | Best Supporting Actress | Amy Ryan | Won |
| Houston Film Critics Society Award | Best Actor | Casey Affleck | Nominated |
| Irish Film & Television Award | Best International Actor | Nominated | |
| Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award | Best Supporting Actress | Amy Ryan | Won |
| National Board of Review Award | Best Supporting Actress | Won | |
| Best Directorial Debut | Ben Affleck | Won | |
| National Society of Film Critics Award | Best Supporting Actress | Amy Ryan | Nominated |
| New York Film Critics Circle Award | Best Supporting Actress | Won | |
| Oklahoma Film Critics Circle Award | Best Supporting Actress | Won | |
| Best Feature Film | Ben Affleck | Won | |
| Online Film Critics Association Award | Best Supporting Actress | Amy Ryan | Nominated |
| Online Film Critics Society Award | Best Breakthrough Filmmaker | Ben Affleck | Nominated |
| Best Supporting Actress | Amy Ryan | Won | |
| Phoenix Film Critics Society Award | Best Supporting Actress | Won | |
| Prism Award | Best Performance in a Feature Film | Casey Affleck | Won |
| San Diego Film Critics Circle | Best Supporting Actress | Amy Ryan | Won |
| San Francisco Film Critics Circle Award | Best Supporting Actress | Won | |
| Satellite Award | Best Supporting Actress | Won | |
| Screen Actors Guild Award | Best Supporting Actress | Nominated | |
| Southeastern Film Critics Association Award | Best Supporting Actress | Won | |
| St. Louis Gateway Critics Award | Best Supporting Actress | Won | |
| Toronto Film Critics Association Award | Best Supporting Actress | Nominated | |
| Utah Film Critics Award | Best Supporting Actress | Won | |
| Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Award | Best Supporting Actress | Won | |
Home media
The film was released on DVD and Blu-ray on February 12, 2008.
Soundtrack
The soundtrack to Gone Baby Gone was released on October 16, 2007.
| No. | Title | Artist | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Opening Titles" | Harry Gregson-Williams | 2:56 |
| 2. | "Media Circus" | Harry Gregson-Williams | 2:05 |
| 3. | "Amanda Taken" | Harry Gregson-Williams | 1:36 |
| 4. | "Helena & Cheese" | Harry Gregson-Williams | 1:40 |
| 5. | "Lionel" | Harry Gregson-Williams | 1:32 |
| 6. | "Remy Lies" | Harry Gregson-Williams | 2:32 |
| 7. | "Ransom" | Harry Gregson-Williams | 6:42 |
| 8. | "3 Shots" | Harry Gregson-Williams | 3:27 |
| 9. | "The Truth" | Harry Gregson-Williams | 3:56 |
| 10. | "Confronting Doyle" | Harry Gregson-Williams | 3:57 |
| 11. | "Gone Baby Gone" | Harry Gregson-Williams | 4:51 |
| Total length: | 34:54[12] | ||
References
External links
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