Gone Baby Gone, Movie Review Example

The individuals indentified as “professionals” offer a strong contrast in regard to their respective viewpoints on both professional ethics and social consciousness. Interestingly, the individual who begins the movie projecting what one would expect to be the lowest level of professionalism, the young private detective, Patrick Kenzie, ends up displaying the highest level. From the beginning of the movie, the Boston police officers and detectives make light of Kenzie’s qualifications and experience in regard to his ability to handle the investigation of the missing child. Captian Doyle, particularly, makes this a major issue but as the movie develops the professionalism of every other professional in the movie is brought into serious question.

All three of the primary Boston police officers involved in the movie prove to possess professional ethics that are highly compromised. Against the background of a supposed kidnapping, all three officers take part in a contrived conspiracy in which they were actively involved in staging a kidnapping and the fake death of the kidnapped child. The purposes for taking both action displays the ethical weakness of all three officers as they not only partake in questionable behavior in order to extort the money they also believe that their actions are justified because of the behavior of natural mother of the kidnapped child. All three officers place themselves in the position of moral superiority that allows them to justify the use of illegal means in order to justify the end of providing a better home life for the kidnapped child, Amanda.

The only character in the movie who displays professional ethics that are above reproach is the young Patrick Kenzie. From the beginning Kenzie is motivated by concern for the child and he places himself in imminent danger on several different occasions in order to act in accordance with what he believes is the right course of action. In the end Kenzie’s ethics cause him to even his relationship with his girlfriend and partner, Angie Genarro, who takes the position that Kenzie should drop his attempts to do what is right in exchange for what is best for the child, Amanda.

The breakdown in the McCready family is a generational matter that is the result of a continued pattern. The mother of the child, Helene, and the child’s uncle, Lionel, are both morally vacant individuals. The mother is a drug dependent, irresponsible individual whose concern for Amanda is extremely limited while Amanda’s uncle attempts to display concern and a moral righteousness but this is later exposed by Kenzie. The uncle is as morally corrupt as all the police officers in the case and actually took part in the abduction of his own niece. Again, like the justification used by all the officers, the uncle attempts to rationalize his behavior by arguing that he did it in order to provide Amanda with a better life and get her away from his sister.

The only family member who displays a modicum of moral responsibility is Amanda’s aunt. The aunt is the only one who manages to demonstrate any level of unselfish involvement with Amanda. In fact, it is she who complicates the abduction plot by her fervent attempts to find Amanda.

The theme behind the dysfunctional nature of the McCready family is their heavy dependence on alcohol and drugs. Helene involvement in the neighborhood drug business is what sets the stage for the abduction and is the source of the friction between Helene and her brother. Lionel, who as the movie begins, has been alcohol free for 23 years is concerned about the welfare of his niece but lacks the moral conviction to act appropriately in protecting his niece. Instead, he takes part in a complicated scheme that results in the death of several men, the faked death of Amanda, and an attempt to allow Captain Doyle to care for Amanda permanently.

As the movie ends, the McCready family unit has deteriorated. Lionel is in prison; Helene has Amanda back but has done nothing to change her behavior; and Amanda’s aunt has left the family home and is alienated from Helene and Amanda.

The breakdown of the criminal justice system occurs gradually over the course of the film. In the beginning the police appear to be concerned with Amanda’s welfare but, as the film unfolds, the moral corruptness of all the primary officers and their illegal involvement in the abduction of the child is revealed. Through the telling of the story, it is displayed that the lack of ethics by the officers is not transitory or situational, but rather, part of each of their basic framework. Although the movie does not spend a great deal of time addressing the fact that this moral depravity is pervasive throughout the entire police force, there are enough references that indicate that the ethical thinking of the Bressant, Poole and Doyle is not much different than the rest of the force. For the Boston police, the rule of law does not apply evenly across society. As long as the right result is attained, how that result is obtained does not matter. Bressant, Poole and Doyle all believed that Amanda’s abduction was legitimated by whatever means as long as Amanda was safely removed from her mother’s home; Kenzie’s killing of a abductor is ratified by the fact that said abductor had killed a child; and, Bressant’s contrived robbery of a bar is a legitimate attempt to keep Lionel from revealing the details of the abduction plot.

The perceived moral superiority of the Boston police is displayed early in the film but is slowly and clearly dissipated as the film progresses and it calls into question that things are not always as they appear.