Editor Reviews:

Product Description:
Gone Baby Gone is Ben Affleck s directorial debut, adapted by Affleck from the novel by Dennis Lehane "Mystic River".
It is an intense look inside an ongoing investigation about the mysterious disappearance of a little girl. As two young private detectives (Casey Affleck and Michelle Monaghan) hired to take the case get closer to finding her, they discover that nothing is as it seems and more dangerous than they ever thought possible. Also starring Academy Award® winners Morgan Freeman (Million Dollar Baby) and Ed Harris (Pollack).

Amazon.com:
For his initial offering as director, Ben Affleck returns to the site of his first Oscar: South Boston. (He and Matt Damon shared the award for Good Will Hunting.) Hot on the heels of his moving turn in Hollywoodland, Affleck's Dennis Lehane adaptation marks one of the more seamless actor-to-filmmaker transitions in recent years. Ostensibly, a procedural about the search for a missing child, class and corruption emerge as his primary concerns. First off, there's low-rent private eye Patrick Kenzie (Casey Affleck, equally adept in The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford). Then there's the girl's drug mule mother, Helene (Amy Ryan, Before the Devil Knows You're Dead). She and Patrick grew up in Dorchester, but he took a different path, setting up an agency with his girlfriend, Angie (Michelle Monaghan). Helene's aunt, Bea (Amy Madigan), hires the duo to augment the investigation, and they team up with Captain Doyle (Morgan Freeman) and Detective Bressant (Madigan's husband, Ed Harris). The authorities don't appreciate the interference, but Patrick knows how to get the local populace talking, and he soon finds there's more to the story than anyone could possibly imagine. Hard-hitting, but never soft-headed, the evocative end result proves Affleck has a flair for this directing thing and that his little brother can carry a major motion picture with aplomb. Gone Baby Gone belongs on the list of great Boston crime dramas, along with The Departed and Mystic River, Clint Eastwood’s take on Lehane. --Kathleen C. Fennessy

Rating : - Why, Ben, Why?!
I'll start off by saying that I am a HUGE Dennis Lehane fan. He's not my favorite author (Harlan Coben is), but he's definitely in my top 5. I can't say that I like all of his books, but in my opinion "Gone Baby Gone" is one of his better ones. Usually, I don't like book to movie adaptations, as I tend to think that there's no way that a movie can supersede the book that it's based upon, but there's been a few exceptions that I can think of right off the top of my head. "Shawshank Redemption", for example, which is based on a short novel by Stephen King. "Mystic River" is another one, which is based on the book by the same name, and by no other than Dennis Lehane himself. So I thought to myself, it can't be all that bad. Boy, was I wrong. Ben Affleck, and whoever put him in charge, and behind the camera, should be fired and banned from having anything to do with movie making industry ever again. While we are at it, ban Casey, and all the other Affleck's, if there are any, too. But actually, it wasn't Ben Affleck's directorial debut that I have complaints about (honestly, I was quite impressed with it), but rather his choice of actors (I assume that he played a big part in casting). Now let me explain what exactly I mean by that. In my book, Ben Affleck is THE WORST actor of all time. PERIOD. I don't think the word "actor" can be even applied in the same sentence with Ben Affleck. I'm a movie buff, and will watch pretty much anything. However, I try to avoid movies with Ben Affleck for the reason mentioned above; Paul Walker (SECOND WORST actor ever... "Running Scared" is an exception - I enjoyed that movie enormously, and can only wonder how much better it could be without Paul Walker in it); and ... yes, Casey Affleck, who is the THIRD WORST actor, partially because of his VERY annoying voice, but mostly because of the fact that he simply can't act. Anyway... Back to the movie, and why I hated it so much. But you've probably already guessed it - THE CHARACTERS killed it. Casey Affleck's portrayal of Patrick Kenzie was, for the lack of a better word, HORRIFIC. Arnold Schwarzenegger would've done a better job. Is Casey the only one to blame? Unfortunately, not. His "better" half, as someone referred to her in the movie, or the character of Angela Gennaro, wasn't much better also. That's not how I imagined those two when I read the books. They lacked emotion; they lacked chemistry; they lacked anything else that you can possibly think of. And what about Bubba?! He's supposed to be the meanest, the toughest person to walk the face of this planet. Loyal to his friends, but ruthless to his enemies. So who was the whiny, whimpy fatso that played him? Hey, Ben, have you read the book?! Unbelievable... The girl's mother, and her uncle were overplaying a bit. Morgan Freeman was totally underused. I think the only bright spot in the movie was Ed Harris, who almost nailed his part. And the only reason I say "almost" is because he was surrounded by a bunch of losers. So to summarize, if you haven't read the book, and don't mind that pathetic excuse of an actor Casey Affleck, then there is a chance that you might enjoy this movie (although I would still recommend to just pick up a copy of a book, and read it). Otherwise, I suggest to stay as far away from it as possible. You've been warned...