Gone Baby Gone: A closer look

5 June 2008 01:32pm

Ben Affleck's Gone Baby Gone is finally being released in Britain following high acclaim on the awards circuit in America last year. It's UK release was postponed due to similarities in the plot with the highly publicised abduction of Madeleine McCann.

The crime thriller - based on a novel of the same name by Dennis Lehane - centres around the abduction of pretty, blonde Amanda McCready - of similar age to Madeleine - taken from her bed while her mother claimed to be accross the road watching TV with a neighbour. But that really is where any parallels end and beyond that is a gripping story that powerfully plays with its audience's emotions.

Set in Boston, Ben Affleck directs his brother Casey and Michelle Monaghan, who play private investigators searching for the missing four-year-old. Other cast includes Ed Harris and John Ashton as detectives, with Morgan Freeman as the police chief.

We take a look behind the controversy and at the film itself:

:: Directorial debut

Ben Affleck has suffered heavy criticism as an actor. The Hollywood hunk, who starred in Pearl Harbour and Armageddon, was torn apart by critics, satirists and comedians (especially the makers of South Park) for his wooden performances until it seemed his career lay in tatters.

But Ben has taken it on the well-chiselled-chin and when he fell in love with this story and decided to make it a film from behind the camera, he seems to have risen like a phoenix from the ashes.

"I've always wanted to direct a film and I felt like I had such a strong understanding of this story," says Affleck. "I had this idea of using a lot of natural elements - of filming on real Boston locations and using real neighbourhood people and trying to weave some of that truth into this fictional story to create a larger tapestry. So it occurred to me that if I wanted to see that, I should probably direct it."

:: Casting

This is Casey's first lead role - a decision made by Ben and co-writer Aaron Stockard.

"I called the best actor I know who's that age and from Boston, who knows that world. He could surprise you," says Ben.

And Casey puts on an impressive performance, though at times that furrowed brow is hauntingly reminiscent of his big brother.

:: A parent understands

Ben - who has a two-year-old daughter Violet with wife Jennifer Garner - has revealed becoming a parent made him relate more to the story.

"Being a father, and understanding what it truly feels like to have a person in the world that you would die for, really made me look at this story differently. It took on an even deeper resonance for me, which I think greatly influenced the point of view of the screenplay."

:: The delay

While the similarities to the Madeleine McCann's disappearance are loose, they are apparent. The media frenzy that is sparked by the abduction, and disappears as time moves on strongly echoes reality.

But what is really echoed in this film is the public reaction to the McCanns' tragedy. As the campaign to find her became so public and widespread, more and more people were pinning their hopes on finding her and seeing her returned safely home to her parents. And that empathy is the one theme that is prevelant through out the plot twists and turns and the drama of this film. The emotions the loss of a child can bring out in everyone - even when it is not your baby who is gone.

© The Press Association