Movies I Love: Gone Baby Gone

The first time I watched Gone Baby Gone was probably over a year ago, and I hadn't gone back and watched it again until recently. I didn't have to. This film leaves an indelible mark on your brain, and it's not one you're going to forget in a hurry. That said, I watched it for the second time a few days ago, and it blew me away again. It's as well-acted a movie as you'll find, and it delivers several gut-wrenchingly emotional scenes, like haymakers to the heart. And to think that this gem was directed by first-time director Ben Affleck. Yes, he of such monuments of cinematic achievement as Armageddon, Pearl Harbor, Daredevil and Gigli shockingly crafted a minor masterpiece on his first try. It's less shocking now, since Affleck has reinvigorated his career a bit (this movie playing not a small part in that), and has a big film in theaters now (The Town, which he directed and acts in), but when this came out in 2007, Affleck was not exactly a hot name (to put it lightly). No small wonder, then, that this movie is as good as it is.

Now, before I get any further, I have to make a disclaimer. I'm writing these posts both because I love these movies and like to write about them, and to recommend the movies for those of you who actually read this blog, so that you can enjoy them too. I must warn you about this movie, it has an excessive amount of language in it. I mean, pervasive use of the F-Bomb, among other things. It's there for a reason; the movie is set basically in the seedy parts of Boston, and the dialogue realistically paints that picture. It's part of the atmosphere that makes the movie seem so real, and ultimately makes the movie work. However, there is a TON of cursing, and if you can't handle that sort of thing, don't watch this movie. Consider yourself warned.

The basic plot of the movie is that a little girl is kidnapped, and her aunt hires private investigators Patrick and Angie (Casey Affleck and Michelle Monaghan) to help the police find her. However, things aren't so straightforward in this case. The girl's mother (Amy Ryan) is a crackhead who may not have been completely honest with the police, and who doesn't seem nearly as worried about finding her child as the girl's aunt and uncle are. To reveal anymore would be a disservice to the film, and if you haven't seen it you really should go in knowing as little of the plot as possible.

Much like Good Will Hunting, the film Affleck won a "Best Screenplay" Oscar for over a decade ago (with co-writer Matt Damon), the city of Boston is ever-present in Gone Baby Gone. In most films, the setting is fairly generic, it could be taking place anywhere, but in Gone Baby Gone, even moreso that Good Will Hunting, the city feels real and alive. This is a small story, taking place largely within the confines of this small neighborhood of Boston. It's up close and personal, and a city that is raw and not given the typical Hollywood gleam gives the movie a tremendous sense of realness, and makes the final story hit that much harder.

The movie has some great acting all around, but it really hangs on two fantastic performances. First is Amy Ryan (who you might recognize as Holly from The Office) as the screwed-up mother whose little girl gets kidnapped. She has the thankless job of playing a character who is largely despicable. We should be more sympathetic, she has lost her kid after all, but Ryan really makes the character loathsome, and kind of annoying as well. On top of that, Ryan's Boston accent was so good that apparently Ben Affleck asked her in her interview what part of Boston she's from (she's actually from New York). The other great performance is Casey Affleck, who does a tremendous job as the baby-faced private investigator. It's not a showy performance; Affleck looks young and harmless, out of his depth as a PI. He's subdued, almost mumbling his lines at times, but then has moments where he transform into, for lack of a better word, a complete badass. He really carries the film, and his performance in the movie's pivotal scene is one of my absolute favorites.

I think one of my favorite things about the film overall is that there isn't really a villain, and our heroes, if you could call them that, aren't always very heroic. Nothing is clear-cut. In fact, if anyone is the "bad guy" in this movie, it would probably be Ryan's character. The movie doesn't tell you who's right and who's wrong, what the right decision is, and I love that about it.

Now, I can't properly address this movie without revealing something that would be a real spoiler for those who haven't seen it, and since part of the reason I'm doing this is to advise people to check these movies out, that would be counter-productive. So, I'm going to write a bit about that below, but I'm making the text the same color as the background (I actually can't get it to the same color, but I think it's close enough that you won't read it with a quick glance-over). If you have seen the movie, just highlight the text to reveal it, and if you haven't seen it, then what the heck are you waiting for? Go watch it, and come back and tell me what you think :).

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So, how about that ending folks? I knew it was coming the second time around, but it still hit me like a ton of bricks. I don't really get emotional with movies, but that scene with Affleck and Morgan Freeman at the end is so powerful, it absolutely kills me. Like I said above, I love that the movie doesn't tell you whether or not Patrick made the right choice. You're left with an honest to goodness moral dilemma, and that's something precious few movies do. For my part, I think it's a really bold thing to do to not only have Patrick make the hard, moral choice, but to show him having to live with the consequences. His girlfriend leaves him, and the mother seems completely unchanged by the experience. That scene where she finally gets her lost child back and still comes off as an attention-craving ("Thank you to all the policemen and the firemen. I feel like 9/11 right now") hypocrite ("just never let your kids out of your sight"), it's just heartbreaking. As the movie closes on Patrick and Amanda, we're left with the same question he is, "what now?" He made the hard decision, and now he'll have to live with the consequences.
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Movies I Love: The Brothers Bloom

So, I've decided to start this little feature called "Movies I Love", which I'll post semi-regularly on here. Over the past year or so, I've become kind of a movie geek, and I like to write about the movies I enjoy. Hence, this feature. These may be about movies I've watched recently, but more likely it'll focus on kind of lesser-known movies that I love, so that you, dear readers (yes, both of you), can go out and enjoy them too. So, we'll start this off with one of my favorite little gems that I rewatched recently, The Brothers Bloom.

The Brothers Bloom is a fantastical story of two con-artist brothers and their helpless mark. It's the second film from director Rian Johnson (whose first film, Brick, will probably show up in this feature sometime), and he crafted a funny, touching and beautifully shot film. The movie tells the tale of two brothers, Stephen (Mark Ruffalo) and Bloom (Adrien Brody), who are the world's greatest con men. Stephen plans the cons, Bloom plays the parts. This is no Matchstick Men or The Spanish Prisoner though, and The Brothers Bloom aren't your standard breed of con artists. See, their cons are less dubious swindles as they are adventure stories. Sure, they get paid off in the end, but they've given their mark the ride of a lifetime, and in the end, everyone gets what they wanted. All of this is set up by the film's brilliantly poetic opening sequence, which lets you know right off the bat that this story is far more fairy tale than reality.

It's that fairy tale-type of atmosphere that might be the most appealing thing about The Brothers Bloom. Johnson has crafted a bright, vibrant world full of quirky, interesting characters, and you almost wish you could spend more time just wandering around and getting to know all of these characters better. Even the minor characters (like Robbie Coltrane's curator) feel fleshed out. There's a fantastic world that's been built here, and you'll catch little background details the 2nd and 3rd times around that add a tremendous depth to the movie.

The other thing that makes this movie so fantastic is the cast, which is uniformly brilliant. The three leads all give amazing performances. Brody is the character who undergoes the biggest arc, making a real transformation from dour and depressed to finding almost a childlike joy. It's the least flashy role in the movie, but the movie would fall apart without Brody anchoring it. Good as Brody is though, Rachel Weisz and Ruffalo are better. Weisz is absolutely fantastic as the eccentric shut-in Penelope. She brings a pure joy to the screen every scene she's in, but there's a vulnerability and sadness under the surface. She is, in short, great. Ruffalo is great as well, like he always is (seriously, one of the most underrated actors working today). He's got a natural charm and charisma, and he and Brody have a great chemistry.

Johnson's script is sharp and funny, and doesn't feel the need to hold the audience's hand and point out every detail that might come back into play later on. It took me a second viewing of the film before I really appreciated just how well-constructed the story is. It's not a hard plot to follow, but it rewards paying attention and multiple viewings. It's got some third act problems, but they certainly don't sink the film, and it ends on a high note.

There's a kind of child-like joy to a lot of The Brothers Bloom. It's a story about the tales we tell ourselves to get through life. As Weisz's Penelope says near the end of the film, "There's no such thing as an unwritten life, only a badly written one."