Oscar Cleanup: Gone Baby Gone by Jon X. Bangs

Directed by Ben Affleck
Written for the screen by Ben Affleck & Aaron Stockard
Starring: Casey Affleck
Amy Ryan
Morgan Freeman
Ed Harris
Michelle Monaghan
Slaine
John Ashton
Amy Madigan

I personally have been rooting for Ben Affleck for a long time. Maybe it's because I can relate to people not believing in you in spite of what you know about your own abilities. Maybe it's because I think he's been treated unfairly when compared to others in the limelight. Or maybe it's part of my standing loyalty to the great director Kevin Smith, one of Affleck's best friends. No matter what the reason, I hope that this will be (and I am confident that it will be) the beginning of a long winning streak for Ben.

Casey Affleck (Ben's brother) is in the midst of an impressive if not shocking winning streak of his own. After his nearly film-stealing performance in Ocean's Thirteen and his turn in The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, the younger Affleck now has another feather in his cap. I have counted myself as a fan of Casey's for many years now, but I would have thought it was a stretch at least if you had told me at this time last year that he would be one of the candidates for Most Valuable Performer of 2007. His powerful and emotional at times; so real and understated at others performance is something to be proud of here. His Patrick Kenzie is one of those roles that you will find nearly impossible to think of any actor being able to do half as well in. It's not always an explosive performance, but it's consistently effective and impactful.

There were sections that bordered on being heavily cliched and even predictable, but it was not enough to overshadow the ebb and flow of the film and the performance of its characters. The lines that even sniffed of being cliche were never unbelievable or annoying. It's okay to meet expectations rather than exceeding them when it comes to tales that most of us can relate to. Everyone did a masterful job of making this feel more like life than a movie. It didn't hurt that many plain-looking people were casted. It gave the film more of an organic and communal look and feel. If God loves ugly, he probably dug this flick.

The best part for me was that it felt like two films in one. Where most movies have 3 small parts, this one just felt like 2 huge events and it worked like a charm. Just when you think for a moment that things may be going nowhere, the action picks up and suddenly you're glued to the screen, intensely gritting your teeth much like many of the on edge, drug-addicted characters may be known to do in their not-so free time.

The performances by Morgan Freeman (who I hate to say it--seems to be losing a touch of his magic) and Ed Harris were predictably awesome at times, but in my opinion, they were overshadowed by some of the lesser known actors and even one of the newcomers. Slaine, a rapper from a supergroup named La Coka Nostra, shined as Bubba Rogowski, a drug dealer with friends in high and low places. His role was a simple ingredient, but it was so likable and without it, the recipe for success would have felt incomplete. If he doesn't parlay this into some serious work, there is something wrong in Hollywood.

It's not the most original movie, but the fact that it is done so unapologetically, so slickly and respectfully and that it doesn't take itself so seriously gives it some extra momentum, not that it really needs any. Parts of it will move too slow for some people, but there are too many moving scenes to count that will make up for it. Though most of the film centers around a missing child, I found myself relating more to the relationship aspects of the movie. When the main character stands up for (and butts heads with) his live-in co-worker, you can't help but feel it. There were two particular scenes where I felt it in my tear ducts. It was so awesomely and painfully real. The interaction between Casey Affleck and Michelle Monaghan was all too familiar to me. Their performances didn't just reach out and touch me. They smacked me across the face with cold reality.

There was nothing for me to not like about this movie. It was nearly flawless and everyone involved deserves to be commended. The only thing that holds it back from a higher rating is the fact that I don't think it has much going for it as far as a movie you watch again and again. With movies that have an absolute truth and a not-so-happy result, I find it difficult to revisit them unless it's every few years or so, and sometimes not even then. I have a feeling this will become one of those movies. That, of course, should not take away from the initial merit of Gone Baby Gone. And it doesn't. I will be impressed for a long time, whether I watch it again or not. I don't have to root for Ben anymore. Even if you can't see him, you feel his presence. He is definitely back. Not necessarily with a vengeance, but with a strong statement nonetheless.