Doyle pairs Patrick and Angie up with Det. Remy Bressant (Ed Harris, National Treasure, Book of Secrets) and Det. Nick Poole (John Ashton), who immediately reject their help, but then come around when the pair comes through with some valuable info. It seems the word on the street is that the child's mother, Helene (Amy Ryan), wasn't across the street watching TV for 30 minutes when young Amanda was taken from her home. Instead, she was doing coke and fooling around with a local thug at her favorite bar for two full hours. Patrick soon discovers that Helene and her boyfriend Ray have been running drugs for the local Haitian drug lord, Cheese (Edi Gathegi) and that they robbed him of some $130,000. As the days pass and Amanda's situation grows more grim, it becomes a race against time to recover the stolen cash and to make a trade with Cheese for the life of the child. But everything is not as it seems.
When the swap is botched and Cheese ends up dead, Amanda is presumed dead when her things are found in the lake beside the swap location. Her grimy, drug-addicted mother is forced to accept that her only child is gone, but certain things still needle Patrick. Soon, another child goes missing, a young boy this time, and an old friend of Patrick locates several suspects that Patrick had originally considered for Amanda's kidnapping. Things explode when the group is confronted and the situation ends with several body bags and more unanswered questions. Eventually, Patrick discovers the truth behind Amanda's kidnapping and it is far more shocking than he originally believed. His revelations force him to make some very difficult decisions about what truly is right and wrong and his decisions cost several lives and relationships.
Gone Baby Gone is intense and extremely riveting. The plot twists and turns like a river and although I was right there with it, figuring things out right before they were revealed, the timing is perfect and the audience is kept guessing until the end. The acting cast is stellar with each actor perfectly cast for their role. Casey Affleck proves once and for all that he is a stand-alone guy and can certainly hold his own in the big leagues. I loved that he was such a bad ass in this movie and yet, to look at him, you wouldn't think so. In watching the deleted scenes, there's an extended opening that I actually wish had been left in the movie, because it shows just how clever, resourceful and yes, bad-assed Patrick is and I think it was a keeper. There are featurettes on casting the film and a making-of which I enjoyed because they show Ben Affleck's dedication to keeping the movie undeniably Boston, even hiring extras from the area to reflect the true feeling of the neighborhood. All I would say is this - brush up on your Southie accents because some of the conversations are done in authentic accents so thick I had to rewind because I missed something that was said. And there are no English subtitles. While this didn't detract from the movie much, it is worth nothing.
Gone Baby Gone is excellent and if you enjoyed Mystic River, it's can't miss stuff. I actually much preferred it to Mystic River, personally. I think Ben Affleck has found a new place and it is behind the camera. Highly recommended.
