gone baby gone movie reviews

Babes in the hood

Casey Affleck proves he’s more than just a kid brother in “Gone” and “The Assassination of Jesse James...”

Boston seems like the most forbidding city in crime movies. There are lots of movies about criminals in Los Angeles, Chicago, New York and points between, but somehow in Boston the wounds cut deeper, the characters are angrier, their resentments bleed, their grudges never die, and they all know everybody else’s business. The novelist Dennis Lehane captured that dour gloom in his books inspiring “ Mystic River ” and now “Gone Baby Gone.” What would it take to make his characters happy?

This is his fourth story involving Patrick Kenzie ( Casey Affleck ) and Angie Gennaro ( Michelle Monaghan ), lovers and business partners, who are private investigators specializing in tracking down deadbeats. Approached by clients who have deadly matters on their mind, Patrick and Angie protest that they’re just garden-variety PIs, don’t carry guns, aren’t looking for heavy lifting. Then somehow they end up with crucifixion murders, kidnapped babies and, as always, people who are not who, or what, they seem.

This could become a franchise, if we didn’t start grinning at their claims to be basically amateurs. In “Gone Baby Gone,” Ben Affleck , making his debut as a director, assumes we haven’t read the four novels, approaches Patrick and Angie head on and surrounds them with a gallery of very, very intriguing characters. He has his brother Casey and Monaghan play babes in the deep, dark woods, their youth and inexperience working for them as they wonder about what veteran cops don’t question. The result is a superior police procedural, and something more — a study in devious human nature.

I know, the title sounds like the movie should star Bill Haley and the Comets. But there is a rough authenticity from the first shots, especially when we meet a woman named Bea McCready ( Amy Madigan ) and her husband Lionel ( Titus Welliver ), who don’t think the cops are doing enough to track down her 4-year-old niece. They think people who know the neighborhood and don’t wear badges might find out more. They’re right.

The police investigation is being led by Jack Doyle ( Morgan Freeman ) of the Crimes Against Children police task force, who unlike a standard movie cop, doesn’t resent these outsiders but suggests they work with his men Remy Bressant ( Ed Harris ) and Nick Poole ( John Ashton ). Not likely, but good for the story, as the trail begins in the wreckage of a life being lived by the little girl’s single mother, Helene ( Amy Ryan ). She is deep into drugs, which she takes whenever she can sober up enough, and there seems to be a connection between her supplier and a recent heist of a pile of drug money.

Enough about the plot. What I like about the movie is the way Ben Affleck and his brother, both lifelong Bostonians, understand the rhythm of a society in which people not only live in one another’s pockets but are trying to slash their way out. This movie and the recent “ The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford ” announce Casey’s maturation as an actor, and it also proves, after her film “The Heartbreak Kid,” (2007) that Michelle Monaghan should not be blamed for the sins of others. And when you assemble Morgan Freeman, Ed Harris, Amy Madigan and Amy Ryan as sidemen, the star soloists can go out for a cigarette, and the show goes right on. One reason crime movies tend to be intrinsically interesting is that the supporting characters have to be riveting. How far would Jason Bourne get in a one-man show?

There are some secrets and concealed motives in “Gone Baby Gone,” but there always are, in any crime movie without nametags saying Good Guy and Bad Guy. What distinguishes the screenplay by Ben Affleck and Aaron Stockard , which departs from the novel in several ways, is (a) how well-concealed the secrets are, and (b) how much perfect sense they make when they’re revealed. I am grateful when a movie springs something on me, and I feel rewarded, not tricked.

I also like the way that certain clues are planted in plain view. We can see or hear them just fine. It’s that we don’t know they’re clues. No glowering closeups or characters skulking in a corner to give the game away. That’s a tribute to the writing — and the acting, which doesn’t telegraph anything. Actors talk about how well they like to get to know their characters. Sometimes it’s better if they take them at face value and find out more about them along with the rest of us.

There are dark regions below the surface of the story. Was the child taken by a pedophile? There’s a suspect, all right, but maybe he’s too obvious. Certainly Helene, the mother, is no help. She’s so battered by drugs and drink that she’s hardly quite sure if a conversation is taking place. It’s amazing the little girl made it to 4; her aunt and uncle must have had a lot to do with that. The unspoken assumption is that somewhere a clock is ticking, and the longer the child remains missing, the more likely she will never be found or be found dead. And here are these two kids, skip tracers who have lives and destinies depending on them.

Roger Ebert

Roger Ebert was the film critic of the Chicago Sun-Times from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, he won the Pulitzer Prize for distinguished criticism.

• John Ashton as Nick Poole
• Amy Ryan as Helene McCready
• Amy Madigan as Bea McCready
• Ed Harris as Remy Bressant
• Casey Affleck as Patrick Kenzie
• Michelle Monaghan as Angie Gennaro
• Morgan Freeman as Jack Doyle
• Titus Welliver as Lionel McCready
• Aaron Stockard

Directed by

• Ben Affleck

Based on the novel by

• Dennis Lehane

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Movie Review | 'Gone Baby Gone'

Human Frailty and Pain on Boston’s Mean Streets

By Manohla Dargis

• Oct. 19, 2007

For his first time behind the camera as a director, the actor Ben Affleck has chosen a brooding, serious drama about missing children, wayward parents and idealism lost and regained. “Gone Baby Gone” is based on the novel by Dennis Lehane, who wrote the similarly themed “Mystic River,” which Clint Eastwood turned into a modern classic. If Mr. Affleck hasn’t raised his material to that rarefied level, he has taken a satisfyingly tough look into conscience, to those dark places where some men also go astray.

The story wants to break hearts: 4-year-old Amanda McCready, a blond doll, has disappeared without a trace amid the squalor of her South Boston neighborhood. The cops are out in formation, as are the television news vans, antennas raised high and all but trembling for blood. Staring into the cameras, the neighbors eagerly offer ready-made headlines and self-flattering condolences: they’re coming together, everyone loves Amanda. The days tick past and the child’s anxious aunt, Bea (Amy Madigan), seeks help from a local private investigator, Patrick Kenzie, a squirt who looks as if he just dropped out of college and is played without an ounce of actorly ingratiation by Casey Affleck, the director’s younger brother.

I’m not sure exactly when Casey Affleck became such a good actor. Steven Soderbergh tapped him a few years back for recurring third-banana duties in the “Ocean’s Eleven” films, and Gus Van Sant put him in “Gerry,” his 2002 avant-garde feature, in which Mr. Affleck roamed around a merciless desert landscape with Matt Damon, with whom he took turns playing Beavis and Butt-head, Vladimir and Estragon.

More recently he stole the show from Brad Pitt in the western “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford.” One of the unusual things about his performance as Ford was its lack of sentimentality. He didn’t plead the character’s case or remind us of his own humanity; he just played the role.

Most actors want you to love them, but Casey Affleck doesn’t seem to know that, or maybe he doesn’t care. Patrick doesn’t cuddle or kiss up. He takes the job Bea offers despite the reluctance of his live-in girlfriend and partner, Angie (a solid Michelle Monaghan), but he doesn’t look like anyone’s idea of a savior. With his sneakers and jeans and small-man’s swagger, he comes off like one of those toughs who never leave the neighborhood and would sooner swing a bat at your head than at a ball.

Mr. Affleck is already deep into the character right from the start, but neither he nor his director let on all they know about Patrick. There’s something about this guy that needles, that helps keep an already tense story on edge.

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The Movie Review: 'Gone Baby Gone'

G one Baby Gone begins, simply--if horribly--enough with the taking of a little girl. Four-year-old Amanda McCready is plucked from her bed in Boston's working-class Dorchester neighborhood one night while her mother, Helene (Amy Ryan), is apparently at a neighbor's house watching television. The police undertake a massive hunt for Amanda, but their efforts are not enough for the little girl's aunt (Amy Madigan), who seeks out private eyes Patrick Kenzie (Casey Affleck) and Angie Gennaro (Michelle Monaghan) to help with the investigation. "Do you know people in the neighborhood who don't talk to the police?" she asks Kenzie. "Yeah, one or two," he answers.

When Kenzie starts talking to these people, he learns that Helene was not, in fact, at a neighbor's when her little girl was snatched. She was doing coke in the bathroom of a local dive with her heel of a boyfriend. Indeed, Amanda may have been taken by people who know Helene and want something from her. Convolutions begin to unfurl: Was Amanda abducted by a drug dealer known as "Cheese"? What might her family really know about the kidnapping? And the central question, running through the film like a vein: Is Amanda alive or dead?

Gone Baby Gone is famously directed by the (for now) more famous Affleck brother, Ben. It's his first effort behind the lens since a satirical short he made in college entitled I Killed My Lesbian Wife, Hung Her on a Meat Hook, and Now I Have a Three-Picture Deal at Disney , and his inexperience shows in a variety of ways. His visual eye is underdeveloped, for instance, and his storytelling lags now and then, especially during an awkward voiceover which connects the film's first and second acts. Yet, miraculously enough, Affleck's strengths as a director far outweigh his weaknesses. Gone Baby Gone is a thoughtful, serious film, whose strong moral undercurrents carry it beyond mere genre.

The movie's first real surprise is its backdrop of white urban poverty and pathology. It's a reality we rarely see on the big screen, where portraits of community dysfunction are carefully segregated into dark-skinned, inner-city gangstas and rural white trash. Affleck descends into caricature on occasion (in particular, when Kenzie and Gennaro enter a dingy bar and encounter what appears to be the cast of Deliverance ) and the squawking Boston accents sometimes overshoot the mark. But, for the most part, Affleck convincingly captures the diminished dreams and dark suspicions of the city's white underclass, some of whom are barely making it--for instance, Amanda's ex-con, ex-alcoholic uncle (Titus Welliver)--and some of whom are not making it at all.

Amanda's mother, Helene, is in the latter category. Rude, stupid, and flawless in her self-absorption, she is one of the more repellant figures to appear onscreen this year, a walking manifesto for why some people shouldn't be allowed to raise children. This is a woman whose eagerness to locate her stolen daughter is frequently displaced by her eagerness to locate a fresh six-pack. Yet if the film portrays her without pity, it also does so without contempt. Even as his partner, Gennaro, voices her (and the audience's) disgust with this maternal monster, Kenzie, the movie's unlikely conscience, treats her with a certain protectiveness. He never says "There but for the grace of God ...," but nearly everything in his manner conveys it. These are his people, warts and all.

Casey Affleck is an odd choice to play the street-smart Kenzie: The Dorchester his brother has conjured up looks as though it would have scrubbed the boyishness from Casey's face by the time he hit his mid-teens. But, while his performance isn't as indelible as his turn in The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford , it's more than capable. His Kenzie is a quiet, thoughtful young man, whose outsized sense of moral probity, gradually revealed, never quite crosses over into overt judgmentalism.

The rest of the cast is comparably strong. Monaghan, who had terribly underwritten parts in M:i:III and The Heartbreak Kid following her breakthrough in Kiss Kiss Bang Bang , gets a little more to do as Kenzie's professional and romantic partner, though still not nearly enough. Morgan Freeman displays his typical avuncular genius as the head of a police unit specializing in crimes against children, and Ed Harris is fierce yet subtle as the cop with whom Kenzie and Gennaro work most closely. Just as important, Affleck the Elder gets strong, persuasive performances from supporting players such as Madigan, Welliver, and (especially) Ryan.

As with so many detective tales of the hard-boiled Chandler school, Gone Baby Gone , based on the novel by Dennis Lehane, is an overly complicated journey to a somewhat dubious destination. In Mystic River (also based on a Lehane novel), the disparate narrative threads were made to align thanks to the inclusion of a purely irrational character, a psycho ex machina ; in Gone Baby Gone , a conspiracy of untrammeled unlikelihood fulfills the same purpose. Yet even as the script--which Affleck co-wrote with longtime friend Aaron Stockard--stumbles now and then in terms of narrative logic, it carefully sets in place the elements of a genuine moral quandary, one from which Affleck does not shy away.

Though Gone Baby Gone shares with Mystic River the usual Lehanian touches--the Dorchester setting, the hard-bitten cops, the imperiled children--in the end, the Clint Eastwood movie it resembles most closely is Million Dollar Baby , another film that concludes with a ruthless ethical dilemma. But where Eastwood meticulously stacked the deck to cast Frankie Dunn's ultimate decision in the most flattering light possible, Affleck bravely does the reverse, conditioning the audience to anticipate one outcome and then offering another far less tidy. This is a film in which the difficult choices truly are difficult, and a solution that makes a problem seem to go away is not necessarily the right solution. In its way, Gone Baby Gone is an argument for obligation over accommodation, the absolute over the contingent. But it's also an implicit defense of people like the downscale denizens of Dorchester, wretched and irresponsible though they might sometimes be, from the easy biases of those with better, more comfortable lives. I found the conclusion of the film deeply morally unsatisfying, as I suspect most viewers will. But that, I think, is exactly the point.

This post originally appeared at TNR.com.

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Gone Baby Gone Review

06 Jun 2008

114 minutes

Gone Baby Gone

Crime novelist Dennis Lehane (who has also written episodes of The Wire) is known for the acute sense of place and mood of desolation he evokes in writing of working-class Boston, specifically the tough Dorchester area where he has lived all his life. Clint Eastwood’s masterful Mystic River captured Lehane’s world with operatic intensity. With the bleak but fascinating Gone Baby Gone - adapted, in some scenes almost verbatim, from the fourth of Lehane’s books about private investigator partners Patrick Kenzie (Casey Affleck) and Angie Gennaro (Michelle Monaghan) - director Ben Affleck has taken a thoughtfully subdued approach to what is, it seems, his favourite novel. He sustains a concrete, authentic realism in what is, after all, his own hometown setting.

It’s a major directorial debut from Affleck, successfully combining the elements of a smart, intriguing police procedural with a distinctive Bostonian flavour and the psychological sophistication and moral complexity that distinguish the very best mystery thrillers. It also marks a stunning reversal of reputation for the man, whose credibility plunged from Academy Award-winning screenwriter (for Good Will Hunting) and Hollywood young lion through ignominies like his performance in daffy Armageddon and the full-time job of celebrity coupledom, obsessively paparazzi-chronicled, of the Bennifer years. A climb back to creative respect that began with his almost grudgingly praised performance in Hollywoodland is well and truly complete. Ben Affleck is no fool, and that’s official.

The plot is labyrinthine and on close inspection depends on some perhaps improbable clumsy mistakes, coincidences and convergences (although everyone in this claustrophobic ’hood plausibly has a shared past). But Affleck and co-writer Aaron Stockard (another of the tight Beantown buddies with whom the Afflecks and Matt Damon grew up) lay it out beautifully, coherently and heartbreakingly.

Unsurprisingly, all is not what it seems and people are devious, deceiving keepers of secrets and lies. The little girl may indeed have been snatched by a known serial paedophile, who the police quickly identify and pin for the outrage. But the child’s pathetic, spotlight-basking mother, Helene (Amy Ryan), is strangely, obnoxiously unhelpful and obviously knows more than she’s saying. Oscar nominee Ryan’s brilliantly observed, breathtakingly trashy character is a foul-mouthed boozer, user and generally skanky ho. Like Monaghan’s disapproving Angie, we are tempted to feel that wherever little Amanda is, unless it’s at the bottom of a quarry, she may be better off, and that her abductor or abductors, unless he, she or they are sexually deviant, may have simply beaten social services to the child’s rescue. Then there are the child’s aunt and uncle (Amy Madigan and Titus Welliver), apparently the only people in the world who gave a damn about Amanda before her disappearance, who begin to look shifty, too.

There is no shortage of potential suspects in the local criminal confraternity either, whose grievances, grudges and possible motives for revenge add strong undercurrents of suspicion. The police in the frame - Morgan Freeman’s respected, formidable Captain Jack Doyle, who has a strong personal motive to solve the case, and his dodgier lead detectives, Cajun hard man Remy Bressant (Ed Harris giving expert intimidation and inscrutability) and bullish sidekick Nick Poole (John Ashton) - have their agendas and are clearly working at resentful, patronising odds with Patrick, even when he demonstrates to them he knows what he’s about. Or, at least, naively thinks he does.

Patrick and Angie are young, which immediately ups the stakes and personal jeopardy for them. There are running comments on Patrick’s boyishness (like baby-faced Casey, he looks much younger than he is), which exacerbates the policemen’s hostility and disdain. And while the duo of seemingly amateurish sleuths are part of the neighbourhood fabric, at ease with the roughnecks and lowlifes, compared to most of the characters who surround them they are positively innocent. They don’t carry guns, and they seem happy and comfortable enough with their unambitious business tracking down missing people who are usually debtors and deadbeat dads. Patrick lives and works by a somewhat romantic gumshoe code of honour that gives him a certainty about what is just and right. Inevitably this mentality is going to doom him to a whole lot of heart-sick, soul-searching dismay when he finds himself looking at a palette of shades of grey. It is the more intuitive Angie who foresees what an unhappy outcome to the mysterious case of Amanda could do to them, both professionally and personally. She knows they are unprepared to swim in darker waters, and she is proven horribly right when they find themselves neck-deep in duplicity, murder, sociopathic drug dealers, horrific paedophiles, enigmatic cops and puzzles that can have no satisfactory solutions.

Some way into the film a nerve-shattering plot resolution seems to have been reached, but there is more to come. Clues and telling slips of the tongue are there for the alert, but the revelations that emerge, one after another, take us to disturbing places we could never expect.

In keeping with director Affleck’s reflective tone, his chief protagonist - another superlative turn from Casey Affleck, ensuring that he will never again be thought of as just ‘the kid brother’ - maintains an outer calm quietude, visibly and vocally holding Patrick’s churning emotions in check and putting over a mostly easy, relaxed-looking demeanour while microscopically suggesting Kenzie’s sharpness and overwhelming inner turmoil. Having come into his own with his Academy Award-nominated performance in The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford, Affleck-the-younger proves it was no fluke in this flawless turn. Even in the seasoned company of Freeman, Harris and Madigan he commands the centre, in a drama that is compelling and demanding from start to finish. Pay attention to his opening voiceover, which is key to understanding why Patrick makes the difficult decision he has to live with at the end of the story.

Gone Baby Gone’s UK release was postponed from its original September 2007 scheduling over fears of causing offence or distress with its inevitable reminders of the Madeleine McCann case (the child actress in the film, whose name happens to be Madeline O’Brien, does resemble Maddy). But that tragedy shouldn’t be used to overshadow this completely unrelated story, superbly and thought-provokingly told.

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• DVD & Streaming

Gone Baby Gone

Content caution.

In Theaters

• Casey Affleck as Patrick Kenzie; Michelle Monaghan as Angie Gennaro; Morgan Freeman as Jack Doyle; Ed Harris as Remy Broussard; Amy Ryan as Helene McCready; John Ashton as Nick Poole

Home Release Date

• Ben Affleck

Distributor

• Miramax Films

Movie Review

Cataclysm can begin without a sound.

That’s the way it was with Amanda McCready, who vanished from her bed one night while her mother was away. The 4-year-old disappeared, as if she’d never been.

Her disappearance sparks a citywide obsession. The front of McCready’s Boston home is a circus, filled with policemen and camera crews. And, as Amanda’s mom looks on mournfully, her aunt sends a message to Amanda’s kidnappers: We won’t press charges—just give her back.

Police Chief Jack Doyle says he won’t rest until he saves her. But for Amanda’s aunt, it’s not enough. She hires two young private investigators, Patrick Kenzie and his girlfriend, Angie Gennaro, who know the McCready neighborhood and may be able to find people who won’t talk with the cops.

What they find is a dark, disturbing world. They discover that Amanda’s mother, Helene, wasn’t at a neighbor’s when Amanda disappeared, as she claimed, but snorting cocaine at a local dive. She’s a drug runner, too, and Amanda’s disappearance starts to look like retribution for a deal gone wrong.

As the case twists and turns, Patrick and Angie grow more and more involved with the case. They must find Amanda—no matter the cost.

Positive Elements

Gone Baby Gone is loaded with characters with the best of intentions. The road through this film is, in fact, paved with them.

Patrick is a tough, foul-mouthed guy raised on the mean streets, and he makes plenty of mistakes throughout the story. But he has an iron will and a strong (if sometimes warped) sense of justice. He stares down drug dealers and defends the honor of his girlfriend (albeit by coldcocking a guy propositioning her). And Patrick will do whatever he can to reunite Amanda with her mother.

Angie, meanwhile, only has eyes for the child’s well-being. When it appears that Amanda was thrown in a lake, Angie plunges in after her—a dive of 50 feet or so—injuring herself in the process.

Nearly every major character, it seems, has Amanda’s best interests at heart. Her aunt zealously searches for her. Det. Remy Broussard tells Patrick how much he loves children. Jack Doyle may want to save the girl more than anyone: His own daughter was kidnapped and killed years before.

“My little girl likely died crying out for me to save her,” he tells Patrick. “And I never did.”

Helene, meanwhile, appears almost indifferent to Amanda’s fate early on. But about midway through the search she comes to a greater awareness that this little girl—her little girl—is in grave danger, and we watch as Helene’s heart begins to break bit by bit.

Spiritual Elements

The spiritual groundwork for Gone Baby Gone is laid out at the very beginning, with Patrick solemnly reciting Matthew 10:16:

“Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: Be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.”

The movie is, in some ways, a morality tale—but one in which traditional choices of what’s right and wrong are turned on their heads. Its moral quandaries seem intended to force us to probe our traditional, largely Christian values.

Points are driven home through constant visual touchstones. Many characters wear crosses around their necks. Catholic icons of Jesus and Mary are seen in houses. After Angie gets injured trying to save Amanda, she stares at a cross on the wall of her hospital room. And when a detective dies in a shootout, he’s buried in a Russian Orthodox ceremony.

[ Spoiler Warning ] One heartbreaking bit of religious imagery is a medallion of St. Christopher, who in Catholic lore is said to have carried the Christ child across a river. An abducted and presumed dead 7-year-old boy was last seen wearing the medallion around his neck; Patrick later sees the medallion slung around the wrist of a convicted pedophile.

Patrick kills the pedophile, execution style, after seeing the body of the boy. Det. Broussard congratulates Patrick on a job well done, but Patrick responds by saying that shame is God’s way of telling him he’s done something wrong—and he’s filled with shame.

“Murder is a sin,” he tells Broussard. “Depends on who you do it to,” Broussard says. “That’s not how it works,” Patrick says. “It is what it is.”

Sexual & romantic Content

[ Spoiler Warning ] The pedophile took the boy in order to keep him as a sex slave. When Patrick bursts in on the man, he’s cowering in a corner, saying, “It was an accident.” We never see more than a glimpse of the boy’s dead face as he lies in a bathtub, but we do see his bloody underwear soaking in a sink, a soul-piercing image that leaves us to imagine in horror what the “accident” might have involved.

Thus, while sex is never suggested as a motivation for Amanda’s kidnapping, sexual themes form a steady undercurrent here.

Patrick remembers Helene from high school because she was apparently having sex with a schoolmate. When he mentions the high school connection to Helene, they joke that her old boyfriend became a “fag.” During an expletive-filled confrontation at a bar, a patron makes a couple of crude come-ons to Angie. A drug dealer named Cheese also forces Angie to lift up her shirt (revealing a black bra) to prove she hasn’t been wired by police. A woman in a skimpy halter top hovers around Cheese for part of the interview.

Violent Content

Detectives partake in a bloody shootout at the house of the pedophile and his two associates: One detective gets shot in the neck, and blood pours through his fingers as he tries to hold the wound shut. When the detective goes down, Patrick storms the house and finds one of the owners facedown in the living room, apparently dead. He’s chased through the house by a gun-wielding woman and stumbles upon the pedophile and the corpse of the child. He vomits.

The next thing moviegoers see is the pedophile on his knees, staring at the floor, a gun pointed at the back of his head. Patrick fires the weapon and blood sprays.

There’s also an intentionally confusing gunfight at a quarry reservoir in which at least one, possibly two people are killed. A masked man points a gun at Amanda’s Uncle Lionel at a bar. He’s gunned down by the bartender. And he dies slowly.

Patrick and Angie run into problems at another bar. Patrons lock the two in before Patrick flashes a gun—encouraging them to unlock the door. On the way out, a patron propositions Angie, and Patrick punches him in the face, knocking him to the ground.

Detectives find Helene’s boyfriend dead—covered in blood and tied to a chair. Later, we learn the boyfriend was beaten with a pipe and shot in the chest.

Crude or Profane Language

At least 125 f-words. About 20 s-words. Armfuls of milder expletives include “a–,” “b–ch” and “d–n.” God’s and Jesus’ names are misused a half-dozen or so times each.

Drug and Alcohol Content

Helene is no June Cleaver. She goes to the bar almost every day and, according to Lionel, uses cocaine about three times a week. Bar regulars say she often brought Amanda with her, too. Helene confesses she’s a “mule,” meaning she sometimes transports drugs for Cheese.

We later see Cheese snorting cocaine, then lighting and smoking a cigarette or joint.

Lionel is a recovering alcoholic. And during a tense talk with Patrick at a bar, he orders three shots and a chaser. We see him drink one of the shots. “Twenty-three years is something, right?” he says.

Other noteworthy Elements

We learn that detectives Broussard and Poole once planted evidence in a guy’s house, effectively sending him to prison. Helene and her boyfriend have stolen money from Cheese.

[ Spoilers are necessary in order to fully deal with the morality—and immorality—of this movie. Several are found in this “Conclusion.” ]

After a tireless search, Patrick untangles the web around Amanda’s disappearance and finds her living at the home of Jack Doyle, the police chief. Turns out, the kidnapping was a plot to get the child away from bad-news Helene and into the hands of a family who could better care for her.

The discovery leaves Patrick with a hefty dilemma: leave the child with Jack and his wife, or call the police, who will return Amanda to her unstable, natural mother?

Patrick calls the cops.

But Gone Baby Gone wants us to hate this decision. Doyle oozes integrity. Helene is an absolute mess. We see flashes of humanity in her, but we all know what Amanda’s upbringing will be like if she returns to Helene’s custody.

Here’s the thing, though: If we fully engage with this take-it-or-leave-it decision the film forces on us, we have to come to grips with the fact that Patrick makes the absolute right call. It’s right legally. It’s right morally. Neighbors and “friends” just can’t go nabbing kids from their parents’ homes just because they think they’re bad parents.

And here’s another bit of truth: Not only do we have laws against snatching other people’s kids, but we also have systems to protect children from dangerously irresponsible parents. There are other remedies for Amanda than having a police chief steal her.

Film directors, lately, have fallen in love with vigilantism. Death Sentence. The Brave One. We Own the Night . Now add Gone Baby Gone , since it tells us that sometimes a greater good can be served by breaking the law. The logic that drives this affection falls apart, of course, when we begin to ask whose “greater good” we’re talking about. Society’s “greater good” can be drawn a thousand different ways. If we were all allowed to create and ignore laws based on the whims of our own internal moral compasses, some of us might start gunning down our neighbors because they let their grass grow too high.

This is why we place ourselves under higher authority—under God’s law and under a nation’s laws. We accept those laws because we know they’re good for us, even when they might have flaws and cracks in them.

Gone Baby Gone reminds us that we must always strive to wield these laws with fairness and compassion. But it also sets us up to question the laws themselves.

A postscript: Scripture is full of passages that remind us of what happens when everyone does what is right in his or her own eyes. Deuteronomy 12, Judges 17 and 21, Job 32, and Proverbs 12 and 21 all tackle this seemingly modern subject that is in reality nowhere near to being new under the sun.

Paul Asay has been part of the Plugged In staff since 2007, watching and reviewing roughly 15 quintillion movies and television shows. He’s written for a number of other publications, too, including Time, The Washington Post and Christianity Today. The author of several books, Paul loves to find spirituality in unexpected places, including popular entertainment, and he loves all things superhero. His vices include James Bond films, Mountain Dew and terrible B-grade movies. He’s married, has two children and a neurotic dog, runs marathons on occasion and hopes to someday own his own tuxedo. Feel free to follow him on Twitter @AsayPaul.

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Gone Baby Gone (United States, 2007)

Gone Baby Gone is powerful stuff - a movie that derives its plot twists from moral conundrums rather than from narrative sleight of hand. The best mystery novels are the ones that use the genre as a stepping-off point for developing characters and examining issues. First-time director Ben Affleck has successfully captured the essence of a written mystery on the screen. The production engages viewers not only on an emotional level but on an intellectual one. As the onion-like layers of the story are peeled away to reveal new ethical dilemmas that force the lead character to question what truly is "right," we are invited to answer those questions alongside him then evaluate whether the consequences of his choices justify the decisions he made. It's a rare motion picture that provides such an uncompromising perspective of what is right and what is moral.

Affleck, perhaps deciding that the future looks better behind the camera than in front of it, makes a debut that could only be called auspicious. This is a mature film, and Affleck was clearly determined the use every ounce of the skill he possesses to do it right ( Gone Baby Gone is his favorite book). It helps to start with solid source material, and the novel is as complex and intriguing as another Dennis Lehane effort, Mystic River , which was turned into a memorable movie not so long ago by actor-turned-director Clint Eastwood.

As the film opens, we are introduced to the boyfriend/girlfriend private investigator team of Patrick Kenzie (Casey Affleck) and Angie Gennaro (Michelle Monaghan). They are approached by Lionel and Beatrice McCready (Titus Welliver and Amy Madigan), whose young niece, Amanda (Madeline O'Brien), has been kidnapped. Patrick and Angie reluctantly take the case, only to be faced by a wall of opposition comprised of the girl's bitter, drug-addicted mother, Helene (Amy Ryan); the police chief, Jack Doyle (Morgan Freeman); and the two cops working the case, Remy Bressant (Ed Harris) and Nick Poole (John Ashton). It doesn't take long before Patrick and Angie discover a critical clue but their best efforts cannot prevent the tragedies that force them both to re-consider key life values.

To discuss the dilemmas faced by Patrick and Angie would be to reveal too much of the plot. Suffice it to say they are powerful and divisive. It's easy to see both sides of the arguments. The film also doesn't back away from showing consequences, and the phrase "no good deed goes unpunished" comes to mind more than once. The film's final scene points to a possible future beyond the end credits that makes one feel nothing but sympathy for one of the characters sitting on that sofa at the end.

Since this is a mystery/thriller, it should come as no surprise to learn that the film does not proceed in a straightforward manner. Gone Baby Gone employs twists and misdirection, some of which is predictable and some of which is not. Those paying attention will not experience a big "eureka!" moment (there is one, but it is heavily foreshadowed), but the plot is serpentine enough to keep the viewer involved and uncertain of what the next corner will reveal. The film is comprised of three distinct acts. The first two are only tangentially related but the third one dovetails with what has preceded it and ties everything together.

I haven't seen enough of Casey Affleck to make an assessment of his range an actor. As in The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford , his approach is low-key even in high intensity scenes. My impression is that he's more of a character actor than a lead, but he is effective as Patrick. This isn't an Oscar-worthy performance but neither is it a problem. Likewise, Michelle Monaghan's portrayal of Angie is workmanlike. The best performances come from (not unexpectedly) Morgan Freeman, Ed Harris, and (perhaps unexpectedly) Amy Ryan. All three get maximum value out of their screen time. Ryan, playing Amanda's mother, is especially noteworthy. She humanizes a vile person, showing vulnerability alongside a startling streak of neglect and self-centeredness. Freeman plays someone whose nobility may be a little tarnished and Harris gets to explore a wide range of traits.

With his first feature, Affleck has made an indelible mark on the fall 2007 movie season. He may have taken audiences by surprise this time, but he will be watched in the future. The strength of the film's subject matter and the intelligence and perceptiveness with which it is approached make this not merely an October diversion but a genuine Oscar contender. It's not an easy film because it challenges us and, while the final scene offers closure, it does so with a side dish of painful ambiguity. Gone Baby Gone has a legitimate shot for placement on my end-of-the-year list of 2007's Top 10 films.

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Gone baby gone.

• Common Sense Says
• Parents Say 3 Reviews
• Kids Say 1 Review

Common Sense Media Review

Deeply affecting crime thriller for grownups.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that this crime thriller (which is Ben Affleck's directorial debut) is so disturbing in spots that it may even make adults flinch. It doesn't shy away from the story's dark elements -- of which a 4-year-old's abduction is just the beginning. There's also neglect, drug use,…

Why Age 17+?

Strong and frequent, including "c--ksucker," "pu--y," jackas

Heavy and brutal, and a sense of menace pervades the film. Guns are trained on p

Viewers don't really see any explicit scenes in which characters shoot up or

Nothing really obvious. Names of some drugs and the occasional store signage.

Some kissing and sexual innuendos, but nothing explicit. Some references to sexu

Any Positive Content?

This is a dark and dreary world, peopled by junkies, neglectful parents, drug de

Strong and frequent, including "c--ksucker," "pu--y," jackass," and the always-popular "f--k."

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Violence & Scariness

Heavy and brutal, and a sense of menace pervades the film. Guns are trained on people at point-blank range and fired fairly frequently, killing more than one victim (one scene reveals what happens when someone is shot in the head). Realistic, painful barroom brawls. Crimes are perpetrated against children, who are also severely neglected.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

Viewers don't really see any explicit scenes in which characters shoot up or snort drugs, but there's lots of talk about it, including discussion of "bumping rails" (snorting drugs) in bathrooms and doing heroin. Plenty of drinking, especially in dark, seedy bars.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.

Products & Purchases

Sex, romance & nudity.

Some kissing and sexual innuendos, but nothing explicit. Some references to sexual acts.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

Positive Messages

This is a dark and dreary world, peopled by junkies, neglectful parents, drug dealers, corrupt cops, and morally bankrupt city officials. They lie and hurt to protect themselves and their livelihood, sometimes to the detriment of a child's life.

Parents need to know that this crime thriller (which is Ben Affleck's directorial debut) is so disturbing in spots that it may even make adults flinch. It doesn't shy away from the story's dark elements -- of which a 4-year-old's abduction is just the beginning. There's also neglect, drug use, barroom brawls, gunplay, murder, and plenty of strong language (including "f--k"). That said, older teens and grown ups who do end up seeing it will likely be able to look past the base, repugnant characters and appreciate the leads, who are compassionate and dedicated and fight for justice. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .

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Parent and Kid Reviews

• Parents say (3)
• Kids say (1)

Based on 3 parent reviews

More irritating than enjoyable

What's the story.

Based on Dennis Lehane's novel of the same name, Ben Affleck 's directorial debut GONE BABY GONE stars Affleck's younger brother, Casey , in a subtle-yet-powerful performance as Patrick Kenzie. Patrick is a two-bit detective roped into the big time when he and his partner (business and otherwise), Angie Gennarro ( Michelle Monaghan ), are recruited by a neighbor to help investigate the disappearance of 4-year-old Amanda McCready (Madeline O'Brien). Amanda isn't like many of the kids who unfortunately find themselves plastered on network news when they're abducted; she's from Dorchester, a hardscrabble South Boston community addled by drugs and crime. Her mother, Helene (Amy Ryan, in a stunningly affecting -- and effective -- turn), is a junkie, and her father is nowhere to be found. Victims like Amanda are apt to fall through the proverbial cracks: Already, the cops haven't turned up anything. Despite their misgivings, Patrick and Angie may be the only hope Amanda has, but their choice to get involved -- and stay involved even when answers have already been "found" -- may change them, and their relationship, forever.

Is It Any Good?

An impressive, confidently helmed vehicle that ably mixes grit with heart, Gone Baby Gone lays to rest any impression that Affleck's talent, much-lauded in the Good Will Hunting days, is no more. From the first frame on, Ben Affleck's affection -- and, more important, his respect -- for his native city is palpable; rather than romanticize it, he presents it as is, with the ugliness intact. Much has been made of the lengths he took to be authentic (he shot in Dorchester and cast locals in nearly every scene) and it pays off. The movie thankfully lacks the gloss of many other crime movies, even those that are well done (like Out of Sight , for example). Even the twist ending feels less like a device and more like an essential plot development. Lehane's story is grim, as is the film's palate and tone. It may even outdo another lauded Lehane-inspired film, Mystic River .

The film does take time to find its footing early on, slightly hobbled by too much exposition (this is the drug dealer; here's the possibly corrupt cop; etc.). And Angie's character is sadly lightweight (though Monaghan gives it the old college try). But Gone Baby Gone quickly gets into a groove, thanks in no small part to a stellar cast -- can Morgan Freeman and Ed Harris do wrong? -- and a script, penned by Ben Affleck and Aaron Stockard, that isn't afraid to be ambiguous and complicated. Much like this new incarnation of Affleck himself.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about why people will want to see this movie -- because of the story, or because Ben Affleck directed it? Why do you think some actors choose to go into directing? Which role gives them more power within the media industry, and why? Families can also discuss how the media handles stories about missing people, particularly children. Do you think cases are covered differently based on their circumstances (i.e. a child being kidnapped from a tough, working-class neighborhood instead of a pretty, manicured suburb)? If so, why?

Movie Details

• In theaters : October 18, 2007
• On DVD or streaming : February 11, 2008
• Cast : Casey Affleck , Ed Harris , Morgan Freeman
• Director : Ben Affleck
• Inclusion Information : Black actors
• Studio : Miramax
• Genre : Drama
• Run time : 114 minutes
• MPAA rating : R
• MPAA explanation : violence, drug content and pervasive language.
• Last updated : March 12, 2024

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

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The Ending Of Gone Baby Gone Explained

If you ask a random member of the public to name a movie written and/or directed by Ben Affleck, you're probably going to get Good Will Hunting or Argo , or possibly even  The Town . But 10 years after Good Will Hunting  rescued him from several forgettable roles  and helped to establish him as a serious actor and writer, Ben Affleck made his feature directorial debut with the twisty mystery flick,  Gone Baby Gone . Despite great reviews and even a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination for Amy Ryan (aka Holly from  The Office ), Gone Baby Gone  became one of those  critically acclaimed films that failed to see great traction at movie theaters. 

Affleck also co-wrote the screenplay, which was based on a novel from Dennis Lehane. Set in Boston (of course), the movie starred his brother Casey Affleck as private investigator Patrick Kenzie, who is hired by the aunt and uncle of a missing four-year-old named Amanda (Madeline O'Brien). Patrick and his work partner, Angie (Michelle Monaghan, who you may know from a certain underrated Robert Downey Jr. movie ), initially believe that a drug dealer has kidnapped Amanda to get revenge against her mother Helene (Ryan), who worked as his drug mule and stole money from him. However, after a planned exchange between the dealer and the police goes wrong, Patrick slowly realizes that details about the case don't add up — and the cops know more than they're letting on.

Gone Baby Gone explores what is right vs. what is just

In the final minutes of Gone Baby Gone , Patrick visits police captain Jack Doyle (Morgan Freeman), having figured out that the police department conspired to take Amanda from her neglectful mother Helene, and give her a stable and loving home with Doyle and his wife. Sure enough, a very much alive Amanda runs out the front door and happily hugs Doyle.

The confrontation between Doyle and Patrick sums up a central conflict explored in Gone Baby Gone : is it ever right to do something that is illegal and widely deemed to be immoral (e.g. kidnapping a child) because you believe that it will lead to a happier outcome than anything the official justice system will deliver?

In this scene, Doyle argues that if Amanda stays with Helene, she'll probably go down the same dismal path as her mother. He arranged the kidnapping, he says, "for the sake of the child." Patrick argues that Helene is Amanda's mother and therefore has the right to raise her. He says that even if Doyle could give Amanda more emotional support and material possessions, at some point she will learn the truth and feel cheated out of knowing her biological family.

However, Patrick hasn't always been so clear about extrajudicial decisions. After once discovering the body of a child at a pedophile's house, he executed the pedophile on the spot. When another cop, Remy (Ed Harris), tells him that he did the right thing, and admits to planting evidence on a different man so his child would be taken away, Patrick disagrees. He says he wouldn't commit the murder again, if given a second chance. Remy says, "Doesn't make it wrong, though, does it?" Patrick doesn't respond.

Gone Baby Gone is secretly a rogue cop story

In Gone Baby Gone , an interesting layer in the debate between extrajudicial actions versus obeying legal processes is the fact that the people doing the former are police officers. As a private investigator, Patrick is arguably in a better position to operate in grey areas, because he does so as a private citizen, not as a representative of the criminal justice system. But when the chips are down, he's the one who believes in following the law — at least in theory.

True stories about police committing acts of vigilante justice typically revolve around corruption and horrific brutality . But the Hollywoodized version of the rogue police officer usually portrays the character as someone willing to bend the rules because that's what it takes to catch "the bad guys." These movies don't often stop to interrogate what "bad guys" actually means.

The ending of Gone Baby Gone fits this trope. The movie's big twist revolves around fooling us into thinking that Remy's involvement in the kidnap is about money, only to reveal that the whole police department was acting in what it believed was Amanda's best interest. The movie leans on the ultimate bad guy — adults who hurt children — to push us to ditch any lingering conflict we have about such pesky things as due process. By the final scene, even Patrick is doubting his decision after he finds Helene leaving her daughter unsupervised to go on a night out.

Gone Baby Gone is slicker than your average cop action thriller, and it likes to play up its debates around morality. But in the end, it's a drama about police framing and even murdering civilians in the name of achieving their own brand of justice.

Gone Baby Gone is available to stream on Paramount+.

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Gone baby gone.

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One of the best movies I have seen this year... highly recommended.

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Movie Review: “Gone Baby Gone”

Younger brother Casey stars as Patrick Kenzie, a private detective who’s been living in the same Boston suburb all his life. Joined by girlfriend Angie ( Michelle Monaghan ) in tracking down missing persons for a living, Patrick’s business is wholly dependent on his rapport with the locals – many of whom refuse to speak with the cops. So when four-year-old Amanda (Madeline O’Brien) disappears one night while her druggie mother (Amy Ryan) is out getting high, the kid’s aunt and uncle (Titus Welliver and Amy Madigan, respectively) hire Patrick to circumvent the investigation and find the girl.

Boston police chief Jack Doyle (Morgan Freeman) would rather Patrick doesn’t get involved in matters he has no experience with, but he plays nice and assigns him a pair of detectives (played by Ed Harris and John Aston) to help with the case. The search for Amanda seems futile until Patrick discovers new evidence that suggests a Haitian drug lord (Edi Gathegi) may be responsible for the kidnapping, but when things take a turn for the worse during a promising trade-off, Amanda is seemingly killed. Still, Patrick is haunted by the shaky details of that night, and as he begins to peel away the lies and deception surrounding the case, he discovers a whole new conspiracy involving the moral implications of kidnapping the girl.

Speaking of morality, there’s quite a discussion to be had by the end of the film, and though it’s not necessarily the filmmaker’s intention to make it the all-encompassing lesson of the story, there are quite a few characters whose motives should be questioned. Of course, just who those characters are depends on your view of the argument, and while it may seem like Affleck is clear on his beliefs by the film’s conclusion, a final scene suggests that the argument may be a little more complicated. If this sounds anything like “Mystic River,” it’s because the films share a lot of similarities. Both movies are based on novels by Dennis Lehane, both take place in Boston, both involve the disappearance of little children, and both have an ending that many won’t see coming.

Does that mean that “Gone Baby Gone” is just as good as “Mystic River”? Well, not exactly. For all the similarities that they share, they’re also completely different monsters. While the latter showed how emotion and a simple misunderstanding could fuel the absolute destruction of a childhood friendship, the themes in “Gone Baby Gone” run much deeper. This doesn’t make it more complex, but it does make it a much easier story to film, and though Ben does a fine job in his first trip behind the camera, he’s got a ways to go before reaching Clint Eastwood status.

Still, he has a great eye for storytelling and an excellent understanding of the area, and though the story begins to unravel in the second act (a fact made only more obvious by the film’s strong opening), Affleck pulls things back together for a humdinger of a finale. Even more impressive is that he was able to recognize his younger brother as the better actor of the two, and though Casey Affleck will probably never experience the superstar career that Ben did in the late ‘90s, he’s got a better resume that will only grow stronger in the years to come.

Also delivering another fine performance is Ed Harris as the veteran detective, and while it’s still early in the race, it could even garner a Supporting Actor nod down the road. The movie itself doesn’t quite have the award potential that many believed it would, but it’s still a commanding piece of cinema that deserves the sort of attention a Best Picture nominee might receive.

3.5 / 5 Stars Starring: Casey Affleck, Michelle Monaghan, Morgan Freeman, Ed Harris, Amy Ryan Director: Ben Affleck

Single-Disc DVD Review:

Buena Vista has never been one to deliver knockout DVDs, and the pattern continues with the single-disc release of “Gone Baby Gone.” Highlighted by a dull and spotty (but ultimately satisfying) commentary with writer/director Ben Affleck and writer Aaron Stockhard, the DVD extras also include 17 minutes worth of deleted scenes, a short making-of featurette (“Going Home: Behind the Scenes with Ben Affleck”), and another focused entirely on casting the film (“Capturing Authenticity”).

About Author

In addition to writing for Bullz-Eye.com, Jason is a proud member of the Columbus Film Critics Association (COFCA) and the Online Film Critics Society (OFCS).

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‘babygirl’ review: nicole kidman and harris dickinson embrace every dangerous turn in a dark thriller about unruly desire.

A tightly wound CEO finds release through a torrid affair with an intern in director Halina Reijn’s second English-language feature, following 2022's ‘Bodies Bodies Bodies.’

By David Rooney

David Rooney

Chief Film Critic

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Venice: amos gitai rejects calls for boycott of new film 'why war', nicolas winding refn on revisiting his origin story with 'pusher' and why he won't be making that 'barbarella' adaptation.

Kidman plays Romy Mathis, CEO of a New York automation firm whose latest development is a goods delivery system for Amazon-type warehouses. She has two teenage daughters, Isabel (Esther McGregor) and Nora (Vaughan Reilly), and a successful theater-director husband, Jacob ( Antonio Banderas ), whom she straddles naked and rides to a gasping climax in the attention-getting opening scene.

We soon learn that part of Romy’s role in the bedroom is performative, when she flits down the hall after Jacob falls asleep and brings herself to orgasm watching daddy porn. In a later scene, she encourages her husband to be more aggressive in their sex play, which mostly makes him giggle with embarrassment.  

Romy is all about careful control, so she’s caught off guard when Samuel ( Harris Dickinson ), a fresh recruit in the intern program, puts her on the spot with a question about the compatibility of automation and sustainability. Samuel has already caught her eye outside the office, when she watches him step in and calm a barking dog that’s off its leash and scaring everyone else on the sidewalk. While it’s slightly on the nose, that dog incident will be wryly echoed in developments to come.

Subsequent encounters with Samuel confirm, in both his loose body language and his blunt words, that he’s not intimidated by Romy’s position. At the office holiday party, he informs her that he’s chosen to partner with her in the mentor program, and despite her insistence that she’s too busy to participate, Romy shows up for their scheduled 10-minute meeting.

As Samuel questions her about how she got her start and what path brought her to where she is today, the subject of power comes up. He throws her for a loop when he casually observes, “I think you like to be told what to do.” That inappropriate remark ends the meeting, but Samuel blocks her at the door with a kiss.

Reijn knowingly teases out this setup like a ‘90s sexual stalker thriller — an inspiration furthered by DP Jasper Wolf’s sharp visuals — but keeps upending those expectations. Working with great discipline and with zero timidity, the writer-director is unafraid to provoke feminist indignation by revealing Romy’s complicity in her subjugation. Watching Kidman hike up her elegant gown to get on all fours and lap up a saucer of milk is both horrifying and funny.

Samuel should, by rights, be a creep, but his cocky behavior is also awkward and uncertain, with nervous laughter when she doesn’t immediately comply with his demands. As their sexual trysts become more frequent, he shows sensitivity toward her vulnerabilities and an instinct for her needs, eventually exposing a few of his own.

Dickinson’s unforced intensity makes him a magnetic screen presence and although he imbues Samuel with an element of threat, the actor never lets us mistake him for a predator or crazy control freak. He hasn’t exuded this much undiluted sexuality since Beach Rats .

The winking song choice, George Michael’s “Father Figure,” is one of a handful of punchy needle drops, along with Robyn’s “Dancing on My Own” and INXS’ “Never Tear Us Apart,” that augment a fabulously eclectic, mood-shaping score by Chilean-born Canadian composer Cristobal Tapia de Veer.

Eventually, the stop-start clandestine relationship does threaten to destroy what’s dearest to Romy — at home when she makes a partial confession to Jacob, talking evasively of having dark thoughts in her head since she was a child, and at work after it emerges that Samuel is also seeing Esme.

Wilde, the Australian discovery from Talk to Me , brings sly notes of humor to Esme’s power play when she uses knowledge of her boyfriend’s other relationship for her own advancement and starts blending corporate-speak with virtue-signaling buzzwords like “radical self-honesty.”

Someone’s life normally gets destroyed in the standard template for movies like this, but here even the most potentially explosive situations unfold in unanticipated ways — notably when Jacob and Samuel come face to face in a physical clash, in one of two moments when Banderas’ gentle-natured nice guy fires up into rage.

There are lovely moments between Romy and her daughters, particularly Isabel, a cool young lesbian with a bleached mullet who fooled around on her own girlfriend and uses that experience to reassure her mother that forgiveness is attainable. The brief scene is a very sweet child-parent role reversal.

Kidman also gets to show chilly command in a delicious encounter with an oily HR manager (Victor Slezak) who insinuates having compromising knowledge as a stepping stone to hooking up with Romy.

Ultimately, Babygirl is about a woman coming to accept that her full spectrum of desires is legitimate and no cause for shame, and that control can be pleasurably elastic, rather than something to be held in a vise-like grip. What makes it entertaining is not just the actors’ skilled navigation of every tricky challenge but also the script’s refusal of judgement and rigid moral codes. The film doesn’t go terribly deep and could stand to be 10 minutes shorter, but it’s perverse, juicy fun of a kind we don’t get much of anymore.

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My Dead Friend Zoe

Engaged in a mysterious relationship with her dead best friend from the Army, a female Afghanistan veteran comes head to head with her Vietnam vet grandfather at the family's ancestral lake ... Read all Engaged in a mysterious relationship with her dead best friend from the Army, a female Afghanistan veteran comes head to head with her Vietnam vet grandfather at the family's ancestral lake house. Engaged in a mysterious relationship with her dead best friend from the Army, a female Afghanistan veteran comes head to head with her Vietnam vet grandfather at the family's ancestral lake house.

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• November 1, 2024 (United States)
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The 10 Best Thriller Movies Like 'Gone Girl,' Ranked

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When Gillian Flynn published her third novel, Gone Girl , back in 2012, it became an instant bestseller. It was perhaps little surprise that a film adaptation of the book was immediately commissioned. However, what has been quite intriguing is the manner in which the David Fincher film has become such an enduring classic that has now remained relevant for over a decade as it follows Nick Dunne ( Ben Affleck ) as he struggles to respond to his wife's disappearance when it begins to look as though he may be responsible for it.

Defined by Rosamund Pike 's scintillating yet terrifying performance as Amy Dunne, Gone Girl 's fanfare only grows greater as more time passes by. As such, audience interest in finding films that can deliver a similarly pulsating experience has only grown over time as well. Ranging from taut mystery thrillers to astounding depictions of female ambition and desire in commanding lead performances, these 10 thrillers are perfect for lovers of Gone Girl who want to experience the thrills and intensity all over again .

Not available

10 'Vertigo' (1958)

Directed by alfred hitchcock.

Any fan of Gone Girl who hasn’t seen any or many of Alfred Hitchcock ’s films would do well to seek out the director’s filmography. The Master of Suspense always had a fantastic talent for incorporating complex and challenging romances into the core of his stories, with Vertigo quite possibly his greatest example of just that. It follows a traumatized former detective who is hired by a friend to investigate his wife’s daily activities. The investigation takes a dark turn when the wife commits suicide and Scottie ( James Stewart ) becomes obsessed with the memory of her.

While the film was initially released to only a mixed critical reception, it has since come to be viewed as a defining classic of thriller cinema as well as a triumphant highlight of Hitchcock’s career. The tumultuous tale of love, obsession, and desire presents a maddening and overwhelming viewing experience that lingers on the mind long after the film is finished.

9 'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo' (2011)

Directed by david fincher.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is the psychological crime thriller that David Fincher directed immediately before he made Gone Girl , so it stands to reason that the pulsating adaptation of Stieg Larsson 's famous novel bares some similarities, especially in tone and character, to his adaptation of Gillian Flynn's book. A gripping neo-noir mystery, it follows investigative journalist Mikael Blomkvist ( Daniel Craig ) as he is hired to look into a woman from a wealthy family who went missing 40 years earlier. He collaborates with expert hacker Lisbeth Salander ( Rooney Mara ), a woman with her own complicated and traumatic past.

Visually stunning while being incredibly atmospheric and intense, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo represents the captivating intrigue of mystery thrillers at their absolute best . Its 158-minute runtime is spent wisely, presenting a picture that is always engrossing even when it journeys to some disturbing places. Viewers who enjoy the adaptation would also be advised to watch the 2009 Swedish film that starred Noomi Rapace .

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (2011)

8 'tell no one' (2006), directed by guillaume canet.

An underrated film from France that has been overlooked despite its success and critical praise, Tell No One (or Ne le dis à personne in French) takes inspiration from Harlan Coben 's novel of the same name. It follows Dr. Alexandre Beck ( François Cluzet ), a widower still grieving the murder of his wife at the hands of a serial killer from eight years prior. His efforts to put his life back together are destroyed when the bodies of two girls are discovered near his home with evidence implicating him. On the same day, Beck receives an email that indicates his wife may not be dead, leading him to go on the run to find answers.

The whole premise where Beck is framed while searching desperately for answers about what actually happened to his wife is obviously very similar to the viewing experience Gone Girl presents, which makes it an underrated gem perfect for lovers of the Fincher thriller . Tell No One also has the same ability to snatch at the viewers' suspicions and emotions with a gripping and provocative tale, one that is both heart-pounding and heartbreaking.

Tell No One (2006)

7 'thoroughbreds' (2018), directed by corey finlay.

Featuring Anya Taylor-Joy and Olivia Cooke as the two actresses were on the cusp of bursting into superstardom, Thoroughbreds is both a black comedy and an enthralling psychological thriller that thrives on the talents of its cast. Lily (Taylor-Joy) and Amanda (Cooke) are childhood friends who reconnect as teenagers despite having grown apart and taken different routes in life. With the emotionless Amanda harboring violent tendencies, and Lily living under the thumb of her abusive stepfather, the two girls hatch a scheme that will appease both their needs.

In addition to the plot rich with suspense, schemes, and violence, Thoroughbreds also finds a likeness to Gone Girl through its focus on two sublimely wicked female characters who are brilliantly realized through performances as captivating as they are unnerving. It meshes murderous mayhem, dark humor, and even teenage angst together to present a tonally complex yet arresting tale of female rage and revenge.

Thoroughbreds

Rent on Apple TV

6 'Side Effects' (2013)

Directed by steven soderbergh.

An underrated gem of 2010s thrillers, Side Effects sees director Steven Soderbergh in fine form as he delivers a taut, contemplative and restrained psychological mystery that revolves around corrupt doctors, pharmaceutical conspiracies, and a deadly vendetta. Rooney Mara stars as Emily Taylor, a young married woman suffering from depression who is prescribed a new drug by her psychiatrist, Dr. Jonathan Banks ( Jude Law ). The violent consequences of the prescription lead to a shocking death and a desperate hunt for accountability.

One of the most engrossing aspects of the film is how it goes from being focused firmly on Emily to shifting to Dr. Banks' perspective, giving heightened stakes to both characters as underlying motivations and twisted truths are gradually unveiled. Running at a relatively tight 105 minutes, Side Effects is a tight and complex thriller that, once it has its hooks in viewers, refuses to let go until the very end . Buoyed by strong performances from all involved and a smart screenplay, it is exactly the brand of thriller lovers of Gone Girl will appreciate.

Side Effects

5 'the prestige' (2006), directed by christopher nolan.

Everyone who loves a twisty and winding character-driven thriller should be familiar with The Prestige , Christopher Nolan ’s engrossing period thriller that focuses on the feud between two rival magicians in the 1890s. The fierce rivalry grows increasingly volatile and deadly as they each try to sabotage the other’s stunts while trying to conjure up the perfect act, a pursuit that leads them to the new age of technology and showmanship.

Embracing the filmmaker’s trademark love of ambitious and time-jumping narratives, it explores both Robert Angier ( Hugh Jackman ) and Alfred Borden’s ( Christian Bale ) side of the story in engrossing detail while still keeping the audience on their toes with unexpected turns throughout. A brilliant tale of obsession that is so intricate that multiple viewings may be required to comprehend the film in its entirety, The Prestige represents Nolan at his very best .

The Prestige

4 'gone baby gone' (2007), directed by ben affleck.

In addition to having a similar title as Gone Girl , Gone Baby Gone also has a commonality with the Fincher film on account of it being a defining highlight of Ben Affleck's career. Released in 2007, Gone Baby Gone is Affleck's directorial debut. He received wide praise for how he handled the sensitive subject matter, depicted the characters in a sympathetic and earnest way, and for how he was able to bring Dennis Lehane 's crime novel to the screen with great social urgency and a scintillating sense of suspense.

The story follows Boston private detectives Patrick Kenzie ( Casey Affleck ) and Angie Gennaro ( Michelle Monaghan ) as they investigate the disappearance of a four-year-old girl while clashing with local law enforcement and criminal gangs. A contemplative deep dive into working class Boston that revels in exploring the complex depth of its characters, Gone Baby Gone excels as a fiercely intense crime thriller that refuses to pull its punches .

Gone Baby Gone

3 'to die for' (1995), directed by gus van sant.

Another female-centric thriller that deals with notions of manipulation and ambition, To Die For trades out the suspenseful intensity of Gone Girl and replaces it with a quirky neo-noir aesthetic and a baseline of black comedy. Nicole Kidman stars as Suzanne Stone, a weather reporter at a local news station who aspires to be a major anchor on a national network. However, her grand desires are anchored by the malaise of her loving but content husband, so she seduces a lovestruck teenager to kill him for her.

In addition to having a similar premise to Gone Girl in terms of a driven woman resorting to extreme measures when her husband becomes less than she would desire, To Die For also shares a peculiar look at the idolization of celebrity status that runs rampant in American society. Twisted, funny, and strangely endearing with its quaint characteristics, To Die For coasts on a stellar performance from Kidman to be a brilliant thriller-comedy that is infectiously enjoyable from start to finish.

2 'Dark Places' (2015)

Directed by gilles paquet-brenner.

While it has its fair share of flaws which contributed to it receiving immense critical derision, Dark Places should be of interest to fans of Gone Girl as it is adapted from another of Gillian Flynn's novels . Libby Day ( Charlize Theron ) lives as the sole-survivor of her family's massacre, a crime that was supposedly carried out be her brother. However, when a team of amateur investigators take an interest in her story, Libby begins re-examining the traumatic day from her childhood and starts doubting her brother's guilt.

With a supporting cast that includes Nicholas Hoult , Chloë Grace Moretz , Tye Sheridan , Christina Hendricks , and Corey Stoll , Dark Places is a well performed thriller that, despite being based on a bestselling novel, sadly struggles to forge its own identity as it stumbles over its twists. However, it is worth watching for fans of the genre and of Flynn's stories if only to gain a greater appreciation of just how spectacular a job David Fincher did at bringing Gone Girl to the screen. Dark Places is set to be adapted as a HBO miniseries in the near future as well.

Dark Places

1 'rebecca' (1940).

Romance and psychological thrills have rarely entwined with the impact and heft of Alfred Hitchcock’s first American film, and his only Best Picture winner , Rebecca . Joan Fontaine stars as a young and impressionable woman who marries a mysterious widower and takes up residence in his mansion. However, her love for her husband is quickly tested when she discovers she will always live in the shadow of his dead wife, Rebecca. The situation grows even more complicated when the housekeeper refuses to accept the new Mrs. de Winter as the mistress of the house.

A film that is decades ahead of its time, Rebecca flaunts an atmosphere that can only be described as haunting while exploring a rich, Gothic tale of palpable suspense and twisted romantic drama. Lovers of Gone Girl will appreciate the unwinding relationship at the core of the movie as well as the engrossing sense of taboo intrigue that permeates throughout the eerie tale.

NEXT: The Best Psychological Thrillers of All Time, Ranked

• Dark Places (2015)

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