User Reviews

Robert Carradine steals this episode from the cast regulars of Criminal Intent with his portrayal of a Bobby Fischer like chess champion who has gone over the edge. The extreme paranoia Carradine has developed has sadly resulted in the death of an innocent young women who had the bad luck to sit next to Carradine on a plane and he thought she was one of those private eyes constantly watching you and seeing his every move.

Otherwise no one would have been alerted to his presence in the country where he has been exiled for a decade. Carradine's brilliance once singularly devoted to chess is now used for criminal enterprises.

Again it takes an eclectic mind like Vincent D'Onofrio's to track Carradine down. That final confrontation scene with Detective Goren and the paranoid chessmaster is great with Goren using all kinds of chess terminology to get Carradine to surrender.

There are many reasons as to why 'Law and Order: Criminal Intent' appeals to me so much. Some great concepts. Its, like the rest of the 'Law and Order' franchise, ability to deal with difficult subjects uncompromisingly. The fascinating character of Bobby Goren with his neuroses and spot on perceptions. Vincent D'Onofrio's brilliant acting in the roles. Its intricacy (on the most part). Some brilliantly done interrogations. The entertaining and thought-probing writing. Some very interesting perpetrators. The list goes on and on.

"Gone" has nearly all of this, though other episodes before and since do better when it comes to the emotion and the difficult subjects. While again not one of my favourite episodes of 'Criminal Intent' or even one of my favourites of Season 4, "Gone" is very good. Do agree with another reviewer that it is very appropriately like a game of chess, it is not easy to get your head round at first but when more things are revealed and made clearer it all falls into place.

It is a little complicated at first and could have had more time to breathe to allow us to digest what was being said.

Was very intrigued by the chess jargon/technical terms but again it could potentially go over the head of non-chess players, like it did me initially.

As always however, "Gone" is a slickly made episode, the editing especially having come on quite a bit from when the show first started (never was it a problem but it got more fluid with each episode up to this stage). The music is sparingly used and never seemed melodramatic, the theme tune easy to remember as usual. The direction is sympathetic enough without being too low key on the whole. The script is thought-provoking and has tension and entertainment value, especially the very witty lines Goren has at times.

Furthermore, the story is mostly very compelling. Much goes on and while it takes time to get the head around what goes on it satisfies immensely when everything falls into place with little signs of sketchiness. The final scene is a writing and acting masterclass and worth seeing the episode for alone (though of course there are other great things too). D'Onofrio is terrific, hugely charismatic and sophisticated as well as more understated than usual (without being overly so), and even better is a chilling Robert Carradine. The chemistry between the two has genuine tension.

Summarising, very good. 8/10

It's hard to follow the topic in this fuzzy episode. A young, innocent lady on a trip from Milwakee to meet her soon to be in-laws is murdered and nothing in the family could link to the perpetrator (except at first the estranged bug-killer brother in law). It takes time to Goren and Eames to figure out. Some evidence lead them to a disturbed middle- aged man (Robert Carradine, he likes to play nerd-like characters), a fugitive because his endless passion for chess drove him crazy and lead him to break the law just to play a chess re-match against a soviet rival.

I feel pity for his supportive sister, unable to give him the last hug, when he broke into pieces the Rubik's-like cube made by him decades before.