Gone Baby Gone
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Gone Baby Gone | |
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Directed by | Ben Affleck |
Produced by | Sean Bailey Alan Ladd, Jr. Danton Rissner |
Screenplay by | Ben Affleck Aaron Stockard |
Based on | Gone, Baby, Gone by Dennis Lehane |
Starring | Casey Affleck Michelle Monaghan Morgan Freeman Ed Harris John Ashton Amy Ryan Amy Madigan Titus Welliver Edi Gathegi |
Music by | Harry Gregson-Williams |
Cinematography | John Toll |
Edited by | William Goldenberg |
Production
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Distributed by | Miramax Films |
Release dates
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Running time
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114 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $19 million |
Box office | $34,209,788 |
Gone Baby Gone is a 2007 American neo-noir mystery film directed by Ben Affleck (in his feature-length directorial debut) and starring his brother Casey Affleck. The screenplay by Ben Affleck and Aaron Stockard is based on the novel of the same name by Dennis Lehane, author of Mystic River and Shutter Island. The plot centers on two private investigators, Patrick Kenzie and Angie Gennaro, hunting for an abducted four-year-old girl from the Boston neighborhood of Dorchester.
Contents
Plot
Private investigator Patrick Kenzie and his partner/girlfriend Angie Gennaro witness a televised plea by a woman named Helene McCready for the return of her missing daughter Amanda, who was abducted with her favorite doll "Mirabelle". Patrick and Angie are then hired by the child's aunt Beatrice to find Amanda and discover that Helene and her boyfriend "Skinny Ray" had recently stolen money from Cheese, a local Haitian drug lord. After Ray is murdered, Patrick and Angie join the police detectives investigating the case, Remy Bressant and Nick Poole, to arrange a trade of the money for Amanda. Captain Jack Doyle reads Patrick a telephone transcript of the drug lord setting up an exchange for Amanda. The exchange at a nearby quarry in Quincy is botched and Amanda is believed to have drowned, as her doll is found in the quarry and returned to Helene. Doyle, whose own daughter was killed years before, takes responsibility for the death and goes into early retirement.
Two months later, a seven-year-old boy is abducted in Everett and Patrick receives information that the boy was taken by a known child molester. After entering his house and finding evidence of the abducted boy, Patrick returns with Remy and Nick to rescue him. They are seen by the residents and Nick is shot. Patrick enters the house during the shootout and finds one of the residents dead. He retreats into the child molester's room, where he finds the boy's dead body; he then shoots the child molester in the back of the head in a fit of rage.
Nick later dies of his wounds. Trying to alleviate Patrick's guilt over the events at the house, Remy unthinkingly confides that he once planted evidence on someone with the help of "Skinny Ray" — whom he had initially told Patrick he didn't know. After Nick's funeral, Patrick speaks to a police officer, who tells him that Remy had been asking about the drug lord's stolen money before the drug lord knew it was missing. Patrick then questions Beatrice's husband Lionel in a bar and pieces together that Lionel and Remy had conspired to stage a fake kidnapping in order to take the drug money for themselves and to save Amanda from her mother's neglectful parenting. At that point, Remy (trying to cover for his earlier mistake) enters the bar, while wearing a latex mask and holding a shotgun, and stages a robbery. He points the shotgun at Lionel's head, but the bartender shoots Remy twice in the back. Remy flees and is pursued by Patrick to the rooftop of a nearby building, where he dies.
Patrick is questioned by the police about Remy's death and learns that the police never had a phone transcript like the one that Doyle had read to him prior to the botched exchange. Patrick and Angie drive to Doyle's home, where Patrick finds Amanda living happily with Doyle and his wife; Doyle was part of the phony kidnapping all along. Patrick threatens to call the authorities, but Doyle attempts to convince him that Amanda is better off living with them than with her mother, and that is reason enough not to. Patrick leaves and discusses the choices with Angie, who says she will leave him if he calls the police, since she believes that Amanda is much better off with the Doyles. In the next scene, the police arrive, Doyle is arrested, Amanda is returned to her mother amidst heavy publicity, and Patrick and Angie break up.
Patrick later visits Amanda as Helene is about to leave on a date with someone she met during the publicity over her daughter's disappearance. Helene informs Patrick that Beatrice has been forbidden to visit and is upset about her husband's arrest. Helene has no babysitter for Amanda and when asked, she tells Patrick that Dottie (Helene's friend) will watch her, even though she has yet to ask Dottie herself. Patrick volunteers to watch Amanda, who is holding her old doll and watching television. Patrick asks Amanda about Mirabelle, only to hear Amanda inform him that her doll's name is "Annabelle" — implying that Helene did not even know the name of her daughter's favorite toy.
Cast
- Casey Affleck - Patrick Kenzie
- Michelle Monaghan - Angie Gennaro
- Morgan Freeman - Captain Jack Doyle
- Ed Harris - Detective Sergeant Remy Bressant
- John Ashton - Detective Nick Poole
- Amy Ryan - Helene McCready
- Madeline O'Brien - Amanda McCready
- Amy Madigan - Beatrice "Bea" McCready
- Titus Welliver - Lionel McCready
- Slaine - Bubba Rogowski
- Edi Gathegi - Cheese
- Mark Margolis - Leon Trett
- Michael K. Williams - Devin
- Jill Quigg - Dottie
Production
Filming took place on site in Boston (mainly South Boston) and extras were often local passers-by. Other locations used include the former Quincy Quarries.[1]
Release
Released on October 19, 2007, the film has grossed an estimated $20,300,218 domestically and $13,909,570 in other territories for a worldwide total of $34,209,788.[2]
The UK release was originally set for December 28, 2007, but was pushed back to June 6, 2008, due to the disappearance of Madeleine McCann.[3] The Malaysian release was originally set for September 20, 2007, but was postponed to March 27, 2008, due to the kidnapping and murder of eight-year-old Nurin Jazlin.
Reception
Critical reception
The film garnered a positive reception from critics and audiences. The movie won an assortment of awards, including Best First Film for Ben Affleck from the Austin Film Critics Association. As of April 25, 2014, the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported 94% of critics gave the film positive reviews, based on 173 reviews, with an average rating of 7.7/10. The critical consensus states that "Ben Affleck proves his directing credentials in this gripping dramatic thriller, drawing strong performances from the excellent cast and bringing working-class Boston to the screen." [4] The review aggregator Metacritic reported the film had an average score of 72 out of 100, based on 34 reviews.[5]
Peter Travers of Rolling Stone raved "The brothers Affleck both emerge triumphant in this mesmerizing thriller,"[6] while the New York Post called it "a twisty, morally ambiguous and satisfying neo-noir."[7] Patrick Radden Keefe criticized the film for overstating the case in an otherwise laudable attempt to "capture Boston in all its sordid glory," writing that "The result is not so much what Mean Streets did for New York as what Deliverance did for Appalachia."[8]
In the U.K., Gone Baby Gone received extremely positive reviews, including a five-star rating from Chris Tookey of the Daily Mail.[9]
Ryan's performance in particular was singled out for acclaim, resulting in wins for the Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress and National Board of Review Award for Best Supporting Actress, as well as nominations for the Academy Award, Golden Globe Award, and Screen Actors Guild Award.
In an issue of Vrij Nederland, Dutch critic and writer Arnon Grunberg called the book good, but the movie better, saying "Gone Baby Gone might not be a perfect film, but it's definitely an important one, if only to raise the question: 'What is home?'"[10]
Top 10 lists
The film appeared on 65 critics' top ten lists of the best films of 2007.[11][12]
- 2nd – Christy Lemire, Associated Press[13]
- 4th – Ben Lyons, The Daily 10
- 6th – Richard Roeper, At the Movies with Ebert & Roeper
- 6th – Michael Medved, The Best and Worst of 2007
- 7th – James Berardinelli, ReelViews
- 8th – Noel Murray, The A.V. Club
- 9th – Keith Phipps, The A.V. Club
Awards and nominations
Award | Category | Subject | Result |
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Academy Award | Best Supporting Actress | Amy Ryan | Nominated |
Alliance of Women Film Journalists Association Award | Best Supporting Actress | Won | |
Austin Film Critics Association Award | Best First Film | Ben Affleck | Won |
Boston Society of Film Critics Award | Best New Filmmaker | Won | |
Best Supporting Actress | Amy Ryan | Won | |
Best Acting Ensemble | The entire cast | Nominated | |
Broadcast Film Critics Association Award | Best Supporting Actress | Amy Ryan | Won |
Chicago Film Critics Association Award | Best Supporting Actress | Nominated | |
Most Promising Filmmaker | Ben Affleck | Won | |
Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Award | Best Supporting Actress | Amy Ryan | Nominated |
Detroit Film Critics Society Award | Best Supporting Actress | Nominated | |
Florida Film Critics Circle Award | Best Supporting Actress | Won | |
Golden Globe Award | Best Supporting Actress | Nominated | |
Hollywood Film Festival Award | Breakthrough Director of the Year | Ben Affleck | Won |
Houston Film Critics Association Award | Best Supporting Actress | Amy Ryan | Won |
Houston Film Critics Society Award | Best Actor | Casey Affleck | Nominated |
Irish Film & Television Award | Best International Actor | Nominated | |
Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award | Best Supporting Actress | Amy Ryan | Won |
National Board of Review Award | Best Supporting Actress | Won | |
Best Directorial Debut | Ben Affleck | Won | |
National Society of Film Critics Award | Best Supporting Actress | Amy Ryan | Nominated |
New York Film Critics Circle Award | Best Supporting Actress | Won | |
Oklahoma Film Critics Circle Award | Best Supporting Actress | Won | |
Best Feature Film | Ben Affleck | Won | |
Online Film Critics Association Award | Best Supporting Actress | Amy Ryan | Nominated |
Online Film Critics Society Award | Best Breakthrough Filmmaker | Ben Affleck | Nominated |
Best Supporting Actress | Amy Ryan | Won | |
Phoenix Film Critics Society Award | Best Supporting Actress | Won | |
Prism Award | Best Performance in a Feature Film | Casey Affleck | Won |
San Diego Film Critics Circle | Best Supporting Actress | Amy Ryan | Won |
San Francisco Film Critics Circle Award | Best Supporting Actress | Won | |
Satellite Award | Best Supporting Actress | Won | |
Screen Actors Guild Award | Best Supporting Actress | Nominated | |
Southeastern Film Critics Association Award | Best Supporting Actress | Won | |
St. Louis Gateway Critics Award | Best Supporting Actress | Won | |
Toronto Film Critics Association Award | Best Supporting Actress | Nominated | |
Utah Film Critics Award | Best Supporting Actress | Won | |
Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Award | Best Supporting Actress | Won |
Home media
The film was released on DVD and Blu-ray on February 12, 2008. Extras include an audio commentary by Ben Affleck and Aaron Stockard, deleted scenes, and two behind-the-scenes featurettes. The film was released on DVD and Blu-ray in Australia on September 10, 2008, in which the ending depicts Monaghan's character imploring Affleck's character to return the child to her biological mother.
Soundtrack
The soundtrack to Gone Baby Gone was released on October 16, 2007.
No. | Title | Artist | Length |
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1. | "Opening Titles" | Harry Gregson-Williams | 2:56 |
2. | "Media Circus" | Harry Gregson-Williams | 2:05 |
3. | "Amanda Taken" | Harry Gregson-Williams | 1:36 |
4. | "Helena & Cheese" | Harry Gregson-Williams | 1:40 |
5. | "Lionel" | Harry Gregson-Williams | 1:32 |
6. | "Remy Lies" | Harry Gregson-Williams | 2:32 |
7. | "Ransom" | Harry Gregson-Williams | 6:42 |
8. | "3 Shots" | Harry Gregson-Williams | 3:27 |
9. | "The Truth" | Harry Gregson-Williams | 3:56 |
10. | "Confronting Doyle" | Harry Gregson-Williams | 3:57 |
11. | "Gone Baby Gone" | Harry Gregson-Williams | 4:51 |
Total length:
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34:54[14] |
References
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- ↑ BoxOffice Mojo
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- ↑ DailyMail.com.uk
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- ↑ http://www.criticstop10.com
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- ↑ Gone Baby Gone Soundtrack TheOST. Retrieved January 13, 2014
External links
- Official website
- Lua error in Module:WikidataCheck at line 28: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value). Gone Baby Gone at IMDb
- Gone Baby Gone at Rotten Tomatoes
- Gone Baby Gone at Metacritic
- Gone Baby Gone at Box Office Mojo
- Gone Baby Gone at AllMovie
- Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- Pages with broken file links
- 2007 films
- English-language films
- Film articles using image size parameter
- Official website not in Wikidata
- 2000s crime thriller films
- 2000s mystery films
- 2000s psychological thriller films
- American films
- American crime thriller films
- American mystery films
- Films directed by Ben Affleck
- Detective films
- Directorial debut films
- Screenplays by Ben Affleck
- Films set in Boston, Massachusetts
- Films about abduction
- Films about drugs
- Films about missing people
- Films based on mystery novels
- Films set in Massachusetts
- Films shot in Massachusetts
- Neo-noir
- Miramax films