Gone Baby Gone (2007)

Two Boston area detectives investigate a little girl's kidnapping, which ultimately turns into a crisis both professionally and personally.

Director:

Ben Affleck

Writers:

Ben Affleck (screenplay), Aaron Stockard (screenplay)

Stars:

Morgan Freeman, Ed Harris, Casey Affleck

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 34 wins & 30 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Casey Affleck	...	Patrick Kenzie
Michelle Monaghan	...	Angie Gennaro
Morgan Freeman	...	Jack Doyle
Ed Harris	...	Remy Bressant
John Ashton	...	Nick Poole
Amy Ryan	...	Helene McCready
Amy Madigan	...	Bea McCready
Titus Welliver	...	Lionel McCready
Michael Kenneth Williams	...	Devin
Edi Gathegi	...	Cheese
Mark Margolis	...	Leon Trett
Madeline O'Brien	...	Amanda McCready
George Carroll	...	Bubba (as Slaine)
Trudi Goodman	...	Roberta Trett
Matthew Maher	...	Corwin Earle

Storyline

When 4 year old Amanda McCready disappears from her home and the police make little headway in solving the case, the girl's aunt Beatrice McCready hires two private detectives Patrick Kenzie and Angie Gennaro. The detectives freely admit that they have little experience with this type of case, but the family wants them for two reasons - they're not cops and they know the tough Boston neighborhood in which they all live. As the case progresses, Kenzie and Gennaro face drug dealers, gangs and pedophiles. When they are about to solve their case, they are faced with a moral dilemma that could tear them apart.

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Plot Keywords:

moral dilemma | missing child | surprise ending | private detective | kidnapping | 

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Taglines:

Hope begins where the secrets end.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence, drug content and pervasive language

Did You Know?

Trivia

Amy Ryan was so convincing with her Boston accent in her audition that writer and director Ben Affleck asked her what part of Boston she was from.

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Goofs

While Dottie talks to the press, she uses the word "visual" when she means "vigil." This was because her lines were being fed to her by director Ben Affleck and she misheard this particular word. Affleck noticed her mistake but thought it sounded natural, and thus left it alone.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Patrick Kenzie: I always believed it was the things you don't choose that makes you who you are. Your city, your neighborhood, your family. People here take pride in these things, like it was something they'd accomplished. The bodies around their souls, the cities wrapped around those. I lived on this block my whole life; most of these people have. When your job is to find people who are missing, it helps to know where they started. I find the people who started in the cracks and then fell through...

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Crazy Credits

In the credits, Ben Affleck gives special thanks to Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz, both members of the Boston Red Sox World Series championship teams of 2004 and 2007.

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Connections

Featured in At the Movies: Gone Baby Gone/Things We Lost in the Fire/Rendition/Reservation Road/30 Days of Night/I Want Someone to Eat Cheese With (2007)

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Soundtracks

Nature of the Beast
Written by George Carroll (as George Carroll), Erik Schrody, Leor Dimant
Performed by George Carroll featuring Erik Schrody (as Everlast) & Leor Dimant (as DJ Lethal)
Everlast courtesy of Gaijin Records

User Reviews

Into the depths

It's become a hobby of mine this past year to watch IMDb's top 250, AFI's top 100 and all Oscar winning (and most nominated) films. I've seen over 100 films in just the past year alone, but I am struggling to think of a film that I enjoyed more.

The performances are outstanding. All of the characters- including the city itself - are filled with depth and ambiguity. Like a previous post mentioned, Amy Ryan did a phenomenal job as Helene, not only do I know many people like her, I'm related to some. I didn't even recognize her from her wonderful performance in the Wire.

The questions that this movie asks as it unfolds do not get answered in by the closing credits, and they still aren't answered as I type. Who was right? Is there a right answer? Morgan Freeman- the greatest actor alive- and Ed Harris give standard upper echelon performances. But I was surprised by Michelle Monaghan and especially Casey Affleck. He didn't flinch, and he didn't compromise his ideals, but in the end compromised nonetheless. I hope he gets a nomination.

Ben Affleck lost my favor somewhere around the time he began to cry in Armageddon, and I haven't taken him seriously since. But his achievement here, the pace, the mood, the spot on capturing of the desolate neighborhood, and the overall story leads me to anxiously await his next directorial effort.

The best film I've seen in years.

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

19 October 2007 (USA)

Also Known As:

Gone Baby Gone

Filming Locations:

Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$19,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$2,299,000, 21 October 2007

Gross USA:

$20,292,962

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$34,612,443

Company Credits

Production Co:

Miramax, The Ladd Company, LivePlanet

Technical Specs

Runtime:

114 min

Sound Mix:

DTS SDDS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1