Boston in the movies

For roughly 15 of my 38 years I lived in the greater Boston area - Sudbury, East Cambridge, The Fens, Brighton, and Watertown - these were the places I lived. I used to hang out at The Druid in Inman Square, Donohue's on Bigelow Ave in Watertown, Watch City Brewing in Waltham, The Sunset Grille, and the Kells, just to name a few of my favorite places.

I enjoy watching films that feature Boston for a number of reasons (we WILL NOT discuss the abomination that is Blown Away), not the least of which is the fact that I like seeing the places I know. At the same time it makes me feel both homesick and a little less homesick.

There have been some decidedly average films that I enjoyed - The Matchmaker, From the Hip, and sure, there have been some dogs in there - Blown Away, Fever Pitch (I really wanted this to be so much better), Celtic Pride (I am sad to admit, I sort of worked on this film - my wife and I helped to keep the crowd in the Boston Garden entertained between takes of crowd shots) - but there have been some spectacular successes.

For my money, the best films shot on the streets of the Hub - even peripherally - include...

Field of Dreams
The Departed
Good Will Hunting
The Verdict
Mystic River
Monument Ave.
Glory
The Brinks Job
Southie
The Thomas Crown Affair (1968)

I bring all this up because I recently watched Gone Baby Gone. It was a good film, and I enjoyed it, yet I was still a little disappointed in it.

I made the mistake of reading the Dennis Lehane novel from which it was adapted first. The novel was far superior, and I likely would have enjoyed the film more had I not read the book first, but having read it first, there were a number of problems.

Like I said, I did think this was a good film, and I would recommend it, but here are some of the issues (many of which come from having read the book) -

Ben Affleck and his co-hort Aaron Stockard short-changed the character of Angela Gennaro, detective Patrick Kenzie's partner, making her a one dimensional character that was little more than a foil for Casey Affleck's Kenzie. The two also completely removed any hint at Kenzie's background as an abused child, something that in the books (there are five) is part of what drives the character. In this book it's part of what drives Kenzie to take this case against his better judgment.

While there were complaints from some critics that Morgan Freeman was miscast, my issues were with the people playing Cheese (and this one stems from the scripting choice), and Bubba.

In the book Cheese is of Nordic descent and likes to think he's black. A much more interesting character than the movie's version, and in reading the book, no one outside of Ben Affleck would come away with their image of Bubba meeting the one he portrayed in the film - that of a rap wannabe. Bubba was described essentially in the book as Vincent D'Onfrio's character from Full Metal Jacket - except he wasn't slow or dumb, and was a weapons savant.

The movie felt a little rushed, and could actually have stood to be a half hour to 45 minutes longer. There were certain scenes that would have benefited from a little more exposition, as would the character development - particularly of Angela.

There is a lot to recommend this film - the performances of Ed Harris, Amy Madigan, Titus Welliver and Amy Ryan were excellent, and Morgan Freeman was solid. Casey Affleck was even okay in a roll that didn't really suit him. The visuals of Dorchester were nice, and big brother Ben seems to have a good eye from behind the lens.

As I previously noted, I would recommend the film - just watch it before you read the book.

Where this film ranks among Boston films, I would probably rank them roughly in this order -

1. The Departed
2. Mystic River
3. Good Will Hunting
4. The Verdict
5. Field of Dreams
6. Glory
7. Monument Ave.
8. Southie
9. The Brinks Job
10. The Thomas Crown Affair (1968)
11. Gone Baby Gone