Gone Baby Gone

Ben Affleck strikes back at all the scoffers over his acting talent and shows that he can do much more behind the camera than in front of it. Any absence of ill-considered steps, and on the contrary, absolutely perfect scene timing, great camera work, or excellent editing, show that there he has top talent. Especially if he chooses an excellent script next time, which will blow you away with its intensity of dialogue, a dose of life experience, and especially the final double-twist. After American Gangster, this is the second film whose absence from the Oscars is incomprehensible. (12/28/2007)

I can forgive a lot of things, but the fact that the film gets virtually nowhere despite three tons of moralizing and wannabe "think about that" bullshit, hardly. I'm not of the opinion that a film needs to have a statement, but if it's fucking pretending to be one all the time, it could at least live up to expectations. An asterisk for the scene in the pedophile's lair. (11/09/2009)

Do you remember Ben Affleck? Definitely, yes, his star hasn't fallen, quite the opposite. He is the actor that many people couldn't stand precisely because of how he acts/doesn't act. However, he managed to win an Oscar. Not surprisingly, for the screenplay of the movie "Good Will Hunting". It turned out that he is not only a great screenwriter but also an excellent director. His first success was precisely the film "Gone Baby Gone", for which he also wrote the screenplay. If something speaks to you in the movie, then it is love for the city. Not the beautiful things that are shown to tourists, but love for the city as it is. "Gone Baby Gone" is not a detective story, it is mainly focused on one person who seeks justice at any cost. The law is the law, and even though his methods are very harsh, his language is not refined, and his age is young, he always seeks the truth at any cost. A great, powerful story about a child abduction, a brilliant ending, and unexpectedly good performances by the actors. Maybe it's because an actor who becomes a director knows what he wants from actors. More: http://www.filmovy-denik.cz/2012/04/diar-milovnika-filmu-c-005-reziser.html (02/15/2013)

A quality film for one evening. It's not an Oscar-worthy masterpiece, nor a film that you could watch twenty times and still discover something new, it's ordinary, austere, technically simple, and quite effective in certain moments. But the storyline isn't that elaborate, and many things can be guessed from the course of the film. Above all, Ed Harris is outstanding. The ending didn't deliver the catharsis I expected, but it has a logical culmination. Ben Affleck is definitely better behind the camera than in front of it, and I think that has surprised many film fans, especially since it's his directorial debut. (08/09/2008)

A powerful drama, very well written, but above all brilliantly directed. I’m inclined to agree with the opinion about the intellectual overtones mentioned several times here, the dilemma that is transferred from the main character to the viewer at the end is impressive and the last shot, my God, is perfection itself. And most importantly, the whole narrative has oomph and it doesn't matter if it's the chillingly harsh scene with a paedophile in the second half of the film or a simple dialogue between the two protagonists. A true joy to watch. And Casey Affleck? He articulates weird, he looks weird, he acts weird, but all of that together create a very interesting person that I couldn't take my eyes off. Ben, in the future, act as you did in Hollywoodland, while continuing to develop your undoubted directorial talent, and I have no choice but to repeat myself: "It was a great pleasure." (01/28/2008)