122 out of 126 people found the following review helpful:

Gone Baby Gone

ValleyJohn from , 30th January, 2008

Here in the UK ' Gone Baby Gone ' was due to be released in December of last year but due to it having a very similar story to the highly publicised real life disappearance of four year Madeleine McCann who went missing in Portugal while on her holiday with her parents , it has yet to be released .Unfortunately she it has still not been found.

I managed to get hold of a copy ( Don't ask how! ) and apart from the fact that the girl is four and looks remarkably like Madeleine the story has very little in common with the tragic case here in Britain. Hopefully when British tabloid press stops their obsession with the McCann case and the truth of what REALLY happened comes out , Gone Baby Gone will get a UK release.

The story begins in the Boston neighborhood of Dorchester, where the gritty, working-class streets are lined with the wreckage of broken families and dreams. It is here that 4 year-old Amanda McCready has gone missing without a trace. The police have failed to turn up even the narrowest of leads, so Amanda's desperate Aunt and Uncle plead with local private investigators Patrick Kenzie (Casey Affleck) and Angie Genarro (Michelle Monaghan) to take the case.

Without a doubt the best thing to come from this film is the performance of Casey Affleck . I was far more impressed with Casey than His brother Ben who directed the film . Ben Affleck managed to catch the gritty feel of a depressed working class Boston suburb but fails miserably to make the story clear enough for the viewer to understand . Or maybe it was just me.!



Half the way through i felt confused to the point of irritation and although it does become clearer near the end what happened to Amanda it felt too contrived and too far fetched to bring me around to loving this film.
It felt a bit of a mess times and it showed that the director was a rookie.
Looking at some of the reviews i have seen i think a few might disagree!

Amy Ryan has received an Oscar nomination for best supporting actress and although her performance was good i don't think it merits an academy award. Casey Affleck on the other hand is a massive star in the making.

6 out of 10

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48 out of 49 people found the following review helpful:

Unbelievably Good Debut.

mephistopheles from , 26th May, 2008

Hard to imagine that Ben Affleck actually directed this. It's nothing short of perfection. All the actors give first rate performances. The film itself is sometimes dark but ultimately one of the most beautiful movies you'll likely to see.. Very thought provoking. A controversial ending,which vexed me greatly but that's what real cinema is all about. Just bought it on dvd from the states - worth every penny. Stupidly delayed release over here,due to our ridiculous sensibilities. Absolutely superb!

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37 out of 38 people found the following review helpful:

Can you believe it was Ben Afflect's?

Picktokyo from from London, England, 11th June, 2008

I cant,,, because this movie is: dark has a great twists stunningly clever thought provoking beautiful real anything but Ben Afflect

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29 out of 29 people found the following review helpful:

For the sake of the Child" ?,

crockery from from Belfast, 30th March, 2008

Ben Affleck has crafted a brilliant, dark and disturbing film in GONE BABY GONE with a sensational cast and such strong acting performances from Amy Ryan and Casey Affleck, as well as from a superb supporting cast. Boston lends itself so well to the story and the characters jump off the screen in a very suspenseful tale of a missing child. Like the film, MYSTIC RIVER, GONE BABY GONE brings your neighbors to the fore front in a manner that is both alluring, and frightening at the same time. The question of 'what is right for the child?' is shown on the screen and captured in this film with an ending that will cause an audience to question what is really right, or, what is wrong, in child care rearing and the importance of family. Casey Affleck is magnificent and Michelle Monaghan as his conscience make a wonderful pair on the screen. Of course, Ed Harris is as always, such a strong supporting actor and his role in the film makes the story flow along with the presence of the fabulous Morgan Freeman. I can hardly wait until Ben Affleck does another film like the one he delivers in GONE BABY GONE. Bravo Ben, 'you done good!'....

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Tense, emotional film, great acting by Jolie

A Customer from Leeds, 7th February, 2010

Based on a true story....great, emotional film.

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Watchable

A Customer from Mansfield, UK, 6th February, 2010

enjoyed it and recommend it to you

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Dark and tense

A Customer from scotland, 31st January, 2010

I expected a good show from director Ben Afflek and the topic sounded interesting, but this showed the underside of Boston in a hard way. The protaganist (Ben's wee brother Casey) was brought up in the 'hood, and uses this as a membership card to get him into seedy venues and the heads of shady characters. A moody cameo from the master, Morgan Freeman and a brilliant performance from the underrated Ed Harris as a 'seen it all' Boston detective (apart from the distracting dodgy hair plugs) makes this an edge-of-the-sofa watch.

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Good and Bad

sarahjolley from , 30th January, 2010

Well at first I couldnt get into the film, it was a bit boring, its a very dark film and with it all being about a child being abucted its a bit depressing Anyway I got into the film from the middle when there were a few twists and turns to it and it turned out better than I thought Its no action movie, more thought provoking. And the ending makes you feel a bit sad about the world we live in Worth a watch just gove it a chance

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