Directed by:
Ben AffleckCinematography:
John TollComposer:
Harry Gregson-WilliamsCast:
Casey Affleck, Michelle Monaghan, Morgan Freeman, Ed Harris, John Ashton, Amy Ryan, Amy Madigan, Titus Welliver, Michael Kenneth Williams, Edi Gathegi (more)VOD (5)
Plots(1)
When 4 year old Amanda McCready disappears from her home and the police make little headway in solving the case, the girl's aunt, Beatrice McCready hires two private detectives, Patrick Kenzie and Angie Gennaro. The detectives freely admit that they have little experience with this type of case, but the family wants them for two reasons - they're not cops and they know the tough neighborhood in which they all live. As the case progresses, Kenzie and Gennaro face drug dealers, gangs and pedophiles. When they are about to solve the case, they are faced with a moral dilemma that tears them apart. (Miramax Films)
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Reviews (12)
Ben Affleck strikes back at all the scoffers over his acting talent and shows that he can do much more behind the camera than in front of it. Any absence of ill-considered steps, and on the contrary, absolutely perfect scene timing, great camera work, or excellent editing, show that there he has top talent. Especially if he chooses an excellent script next time, which will blow you away with its intensity of dialogue, a dose of life experience, and especially the final double-twist. After American Gangster, this is the second film whose absence from the Oscars is incomprehensible.
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Affleck’s adaptation of Dennis Lehane’s novel is unarguably well-made, perfectly acted, absorbing with its atmosphere of an Irish suburb of Boston and especially in the night scenes it’s completely riveting. Casey Affleck in the role of the “neighborly" private detective is worthy of the supreme acting accolade, just like many of the supporting actors. Seemingly the perfect crime movie. However, there is one small but. After the scene with the attack on the house and one subsequent conversation, it is absolutely clear “who, how and why". However, a long-winded half hour of wannabe surprising revelations follow. Not that it matters that much, since the picture culminates in these scenes in terms of acting, but as a whole it needlessly loses energy. At least the complete end with the repercussions of a certain decision is again back to the standard of most of the movie. In other words, at the qualitative zenith of the genre. After his feature-length directing debut, I’ll have to keep an eye out for Ben Affleck. With his economical and firm-handed directing that doesn’t draw attention to itself, he is very similar to Clint Eastwood. Let’s hope it stays with him and that he will no longer prance around in front of the camera. Both for his and mainly for our own good.
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A quality film for one evening. It's not an Oscar-worthy masterpiece, nor a film that you could watch twenty times and still discover something new, it's ordinary, austere, technically simple, and quite effective in certain moments. But the storyline isn't that elaborate, and many things can be guessed from the course of the film. Above all, Ed Harris is outstanding. The ending didn't deliver the catharsis I expected, but it has a logical culmination. Ben Affleck is definitely better behind the camera than in front of it, and I think that has surprised many film fans, especially since it's his directorial debut.
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Bad Baby Bad. Disappointing in every way! The story is confusing and disjointed. Ben Affleck directs as much as he acts: like a teenager with attention deficit disorder. The characters were uninteresting, unmotivated and poorly cast. The dialogue lacked drive, it was clichéd and incomprehensible. Overall, I found this film very boring to the point of absurdity. It lacked suspense and atmosphere. There was almost nothing positive here! Affleck has picked up the wrong profession. I didn't enjoy it. 40%.
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I can forgive a lot of things, but the fact that the film gets virtually nowhere despite three tons of moralizing and wannabe "think about that" bullshit, hardly. I'm not of the opinion that a film needs to have a statement, but if it's fucking pretending to be one all the time, it could at least live up to expectations. An asterisk for the scene in the pedophile's lair.
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