Ben Affleck directs his brother, Casey Affleck, in this story of a kidnapped child in the midst of lies, deceit and corruption. Much like the recent film, The Brave One, this movie allows the audience to question if doing wrongful things are right in the end.

Amy Ryan received an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress as she plays the drug addicted mother of the kidnapped kid. Her role is short, and I actually wonder why she was nominated. She is good as the mother, but she is not memorable. Casey Affleck does a serviceable job as he interacts with Ed Harris and Morgan Freeman (who uncharacteristically is quite a boring character). Ed Harris uses his usual gruffness to show how much of a presence he has, but actually does not add depth to the film. The movie’s direction is average but becomes slow at points and as the story almost ends near its middle, I found myself wanting more yet could care less what else was about to be provided. This type of story telling actually made it obvious that this was not a kidnapping story, but a story of deception which made the end predictable.

This movie was adapted from an original novel by Dennis Lehane who also wrote Mystic River. River was a better made film, which made you ultimately feel for the characters and hurt for each one of them. Gone at least leaves the viewer something to think about in the end of what decision you would make and if our laws are correct when it comes to corruption for the possible sake of good. This is its redeeming quality.

Gone is definitely one for the home viewing. It is not as intense as it needed to be, not as bleak in cinematography as it should have been, and not as emotional as it could have been. It shows that Ben Affleck has promise as a director since it was not below average, and it also shows Casey Affleck has promise as a serious actor. Unfortunately, the movie itself gives us nothing to remember it by.  

Similar recommended titles: Mystic River and The Brave One