Movies of the 00's: Gone Baby Gone (2007)

“Gone Baby Gone”, the directorial debut of Ben Affleck, deals with the moral choices we make. The plot of this well-made thriller involves the disappearance of four-year-old Amanda McCready. As the police struggle to find answers, Amanda’s aunt hires a private detective, Patrick Kenzie (played by Casey Affleck) and his partner/girlfriend. Their investigation leads them through Boston’s rough lower income neighborhoods and a variety of drug dealers, police (both honest and corrupt), gangs, and pedophiles. The mystery is very engaging and includes many surprising but still believable twists (which I won’t reveal here).

What really makes this movie stand out is the way it deals with the moral dilemmas faced by Kenzie. Kenzie faces two major decisions that blur the lines of right or wrong and moral or immoral. The first decision he makes, while illegal, is one that people close to him fully support. It is one, in fact, which many people would support with the “ends justify the means” argument. However, the movie does not give full support to this argument. The decision weighs heavy on Kenzie who admits when asked if he would do it again that he would not.

Kenzie’s second decision at the end of the movie is more difficult. Those close to him reject his dicision. Many viewers, as well, will disagree that Kenzie makes the “right” choice. However, Kenzie stands up for what he believes to be right thing and does not make what could be considered the easier decision. This decision costs Kenzie greatly, and some closing scenes suggest that Kenzie knows that even though he made the “right” decision, it might not be the “best” decision for everyone involved.

Right and wrong in “Gone Baby Gone” are not as simple as black and white. The movie shows, however, that even though we live in a world where right and wrong seem relative, we have to live with our choices and their consequences. When there are no simple answers, one must act with integrity, doing what is right, not what is easy or popular. In the opening lines of the movie Kenzie states, “When I was young, I asked my priest how you could get to heaven and still protect yourself from all the evil in the world. He told me what God said to His children. ‘You are sheep among wolves. Be wise as serpents, yet innocent as doves.’ ”

Movies of the 00's: Children of Men (2006)

Seemingly impossible, a young, unmarried girl miraculously learns she is pregnant. While on a difficult journey she must give birth in the most humble of locations. The baby she gives birth to brings hope to a hopeless world. No, this isn’t a description of “The Nativity”. It is Alfonso Cuarón’s “Children of Men”.

Set Great Britain in the year 2027, “Children of Men” explores a world where humanity has lost its ability to reproduce. The youngest person on the planet is 18 years old and no one has been able to explain or correct the problem. With eventual extinction looming, despair and chaos rule the day. Great Britain, one of the last functional societies, faces terrorist violence and mass immigration. In this dark world “Children of Men” tells the story of Londoner Theo Faron (played by Clive Owen) and his attempt to get the first pregnant woman in 18 years to a group dedicated to solving the problem of infertility known as the Human Project.

The movie is technically brilliant. It is well acted, shot with excellent cinematography—including several long, well-choreographed tracking shots—, and includes several breathtaking moments. Its parallel to the Christmas story, however, is really what makes it resonate. The picture a world where people have no hope of a future is a good illustration of the hopelessness hidden beneath the surface in our world. The birth of the child gives hope for all humanity. Perhaps the best scene in the movie includes several minutes of stunned silence as soldiers and revolutionaries pause their fighting and stare in amazement at the new born miracle as his mother carries him through a crowded battle zone. It is a reminder of the awe and wonder we should feel when we think about the story of Christ’s birth.