MovieChat Forums > Gone Baby Gone (2007) Discussion > I can't believe everyone thinks Patrick ...

I can't believe everyone thinks Patrick did the wrong thing at the end


That was the only good thing he did in the movie. He rescued a kidnapped child from her captor, and returned her to her mother, who otherwise would've spent the rest of her life grieving her "death". I can't believe anyone would have a problem with that.

If Patrick let Amanda her stay with Doyle, Patrick would've become just as evil and corrupt. And if the police found Amanda, and found out Patrick let Amanda stay with Doyle, Patrick would've been arrested for being an accessory in a kidnapping. Angie should've been arrested for trying to convince Patrick to let Amanda stay with Doyle. That made Angie an accessory in a kidnapping.

And morally it was clearly the right thing to do, and I can't believe anyone would disagree with that. I don't even know how to explain why it was the right thing to do, it's too obvious. It's like trying to explain why blowing up a building full of people is the wrong thing to do.

I don't even understand why everyone thought Helene was such a bad mother. She clearly loved Amanda very much. She did make some stupid decisions, but I see no evidence that she didn't take great care of her daughter. If Amanda stayed with Doyle, she would've lived a terrible life. She would've never been allowed to leave the house, because she was supposed to be dead.

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I agree. What gives them to play judge and jury?

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Anybody who supports the criminals (remember kidnapping was only ONE of their criminal actions) who took her is a simplistic thinker.

These are the same people who believe in the "War on Terror" and anyone who tells them, "I'm keeping you safe. Ignore those other bad things I'm doing."

It's pretty sad, actually. "But she had a lap to sit on and nice porch and rocking chair!"

Simplistic. Thinking.

Some people just can't do deep, murky, difficult and don't want to begin to try.



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Loving someone and demonstrating love are different. She neglected Amanda which is why (forget his name, her uncle?) took her away to give her a better life.

I see both sides but for me it's a tough call.

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No it's not a tough call. You can't just take a child whether you think it's for the best.

If they thought that she was an unfit mother then go through the official ways to get the child taken from the mother.

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And if it doesn't work? If she keeps neglecting her daughter and the daughter has a crap life?


But at least her mom was there right?

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"But at least her mom was there right?"

Yeah. Right. (No sarcasm. Matter of fact.)

This argument's always so odd to me. There's tons of children out there with crappy parents. There's plenty without parents up for adoption.

If you see the side of a "better life"-- which is a fallacy as Morgan Freeman was a deranged criminal (for more than just kidnapping, mind you) damaged by his own trauma-- then why are you not out there living the view you claim to see? Why? Because you don't actually see that view. You're not plucking children out of horrible circumstances. Why would you support a character doing so?

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"There's tons of children out there with crappy parents." Yeah, I guess that's true. But Helene left her child in a hot car for over 2 hours, took her to a bar EVERY day so she could do drugs, and even took her to a meeting with a drug dealer. Helene was more than a crappy parent. And doing drugs in front of her daughter will likely turn Amanda into a cokehead, too. But people think Patrick did the right thing by returning her back to Helene? Because if he hadn't, he would have been just as bad as the kidnappers? Then Patrick should have turned himself in for the murder of Coyle, the pedophile. After all, killing someone in cold blood makes him just as bad, right?

Can't have it both ways.

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