3SMReviews: Gone Baby Gone

This was the movie that launched the Kenzie/Gennaro reading obsession–an obsession I have managed to spread to several people, Matt included. Matt has finished this book and so we got to watch the movie together and I must say that I was quite disappointed. One of the more interesting female characters I’ve read in years was chopped down to a wide-eyed smiling specter whose only reason for being in this film was to stare adoringly at her man; she didn’t even carry a gun, for chrissakes and in the book, she is the much better shot and saves Patrick Kenzie’s bacon on many an occasion.*

*I can’t rightfully be surprised. As I’ve observed more than once: the main thrust of the movie making industry seems to be assuring men that they are very manly, cool, interesting, and women need them. This is at the same time that stories about women’s lives are incredibly interesting (I think) and women deserve to watch movies where the women (or mostly woman, singular) do something besides stand by her man. I watch movie after movie focusing on men and I enjoy many of them, but when will myself throw up her hands in despair and stop attending such—which means the vast majority of—movies? The movie machine could save me from this fate by rapidly increasing the percentage of movies that pass the Bechdel test. What will it take to make that happen?