Gone Baby Gone

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Gone Baby Gone ★★★ 2007 (R)

In working-class Dorchester (Boston), four-year-old Amanda McCready has been abducted. Cops Jack Doyle (Freeman) and Remy Bressant (Harris) are on the scene, but it's not enough for Amanda's Aunt Beatrice (Madigan). She hires private detectives Patrick Kenzie (the younger Affleck) and Angie Gennaro (Monaghan), locals with better access to neighborhood folks who may not talk to police. Mom Helene (Ryan) is tough to sympathize with—a drinker and druggie who lives in near squalor and who seems apathetic at best about her daughter's disappearance. Stellar performances, nuance, plot twists, and a distinctly un-Hollywood gritty Boston backdrop create a crime thriller that offers an uncomfortable edge of moral dilemma. The brothers Affleck and the rest of the crew put out a commendable effort, with Ben a pleasant surprise behind the camera and Casey an equally pleasant surprise in front of it. 115m/C DVD, Blu-ray Disc . US Casey Affleck, Michelle Monaghan, Morgan Freeman, Ed Harris, John Ashton, Amy Ryan, Amy Madigan, Titus Welliver, Michael K. Williams, Edi Gathegi, Jill Quigg; D: Ben Affleck; W: Ben Affleck, Aaron Stockard; C: John Toll; M: Harry Gregson-Williams.