“Gone Baby Gone” is a mystery/whodunnit involving the kidnapping of a little girl. Two private detectives are requested by the child’s aunt to investigate, as they live in a rough neighbourhood and she does not believe people will talk to the police (with some justification). The movie follows the investigation and what happens to the couple as a result, ending in an ethical dilemma that leaves the audience wondering what they would do.

This film is directed by Ben Affleck and is his directorial debut. It’s very well done and he keeps the tension going throughout. The investigating couple live in the neighbourhood and are acquainted with most locals including the local criminals, so have access to people the police might not have any luck with. The depiction of the seedy underside of Boston is very realistic and the drug dealers and hoods come across as the types you might see in any city in the world.

There are a number of excellent performances here, the main roles being played by Casey Affleck as Patrick Kenzie and Michelle Monaghan as Angie Gennaro, the investigators. Supporting cast include Ed Harris and Morgan Freeman as police, and Amy Ryan and Amy Madigan as the child’s mother and aunt respectively. Affleck was particularly good in this role – his character goes through a journey during the course of the movie, starting as a man with certain set notions about how the world works and having these notions overturned. His action towards the end of the movie where he kills a man (justifiably) is the starting point of a series of realizations that what he thought happened, what he had been told, was all completely wrong. Affleck’s depiction of these moments of horrified realisation, his choice, his uncertainty at the end of whether his choice was right or wrong, is compelling. He is very good in this role.

Kenzie’s partner Angie goes through this journey with him, but has a very different idea of the ideal outcome at the end. Their difference of opinion is profound enough to end their relationship, which is in itself a tragic circumstance for both characters. Angie tells Patrick that the choice he makes is a deal breaker of their relationship, and I liked the character’s honesty as well as Monaghan’s straightforward portrayal of her.

However, the plot is in fact where this film fails to be great. (A spoiler warning is now in effect.) Why would the police concoct such a complicated and messy conspiracy, involving kidnap, fraud, and murder, in order to save this child from her neglectful mother? Having the Child Protection Agency remove the girl from her mother and then placing her with the aunt, or elsewhere, would surely be far easier and doesn’t involve multiple felonies? The police captain (Morgan Freeman) says he lost his own daughter to a murderer. So why can’t he apply to be a foster parent? Why does it take kidnapping that particular child and involving two of his officers plus the girl’s uncle to save the girl? It doesn’t end well for anyone. The elaborate charade to fool Patrick and Angie (and through them everyone else) that the girl has been killed is just plain ridiculous, not to mention they murdered a drug dealer to make it look convincing. By the time Patrick and Angie find out, and Patrick decides to blow the whistle and return the girl to her mother, I was left scratching my head wondering at the sheer implausibility of the plot.

It seems to me that this film, well done as it is, is a plot constructed entirely to set up the ethical question – to return the little girl or not. Is it a question? Absolutely. The girl is safer, healthier, happier with the police captain and his wife. I entirely understand Angie’s position, and wonder if that girl will survive to adulthood, and if she does will she turn into a carbon copy of her drug addict mother. I also understand Patrick’s position, that the girl is old enough to remember her mother and will wonder why she was raised by other people later on. It’s just that the setup to get to this point is so spectacularly far fetched it really ruins the movie for me.

Let’s take the scene where the little girl allegedly dies as an example. It’s a really well-directed scene. It’s dark, Patrick and Angie don’t know what is happening, there are shots and shouts, and a splash. The girl has gone into the water, they are told. They cannot find her, she must have drowned. It’s great. But at the end you find out that all of it was staged, set up. The drama disappears. It’s not a rescue gone wrong, it’s a con and a murder.

“Gone Baby Gone” is not a bad film. It is well-directed and acted and very entertaining as far as it goes. It just makes no sense. So, my conclusion would be to watch it for its performances, but not for its plot.