Gone Baby Gone

The novel was optioned in 2002 for Ben Affleck to star; by July he was instead negotiating to write and possibly direct, and by 2005 his appearance was off. He wrote the screenplay with Aaron Stockard from Dennis Lehane’s 1998 book. Most small parts went to non professionals, extras were often local passers by, and shooting stayed in Boston, mainly South Boston. Affleck has described reading Amy Ryan for the first scene, taking her for a local, hearing she was from Queens, and calling it the only time anyone completely fooled him. The weight is not on the search but on the decision once the child is found. Affleck frames it as the pull between forgiving people and judging them, and leaves the account open. The British release moved from 28 December 2007 to 6 June 2008 after Madeleine McCann disappeared. The Academy gave it one nomination: Amy Ryan for supporting actress at the 80th ceremony, where Tilda Swinton won for Michael Clayton. Casey Affleck was nominated the same night, but for another film, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. A good fit if you want a story that does not end when the case is solved but opens its real argument there. Not for anyone who expects the last scene to say who was right.