Gone Baby Gone (2007)

Ben Affleck's impressive directorial debut features some remarkably naturalistic performances, a genuine sense of locale, and an atmosphere of despair and hopelessness that becomes a major antagonist. An honestly downbeat film, it portrays a mode of existence where nothing is black or white, and it is that gray area that the film explores so effectively even if I find the story from Dennis Leheane's novel to be a bit far-fetched and convoluted. More than The Departed, Mystic River, and Peter Yates' The Friends of Eddie Coyle, Gone, Baby, Gone understands the inter-relationship among cops, criminals, and a neighborhood as they search for a missing child. Though the boyish Casey Affleck is arguably miscast as Patrick, a character who was more mature in the novel, his performance cannot be faulted and by the end he has won us over. The last scene is particularly resonant. Though well-known actors such as Ed Harris and Morgan Freeman are expectedly good, it is the performances of an unknown supporting cast that gives the film a disturbing authenticity. And Amy Ryan as the child's mother gives a trenchant performance. Director Affleck maintains an admirable tone of objectivity and compassion throughout, and he has made a film that is worthy of your time. Go!Baby!Go!