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)
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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This story looks like a classic. One crime that not only changes the lives of all involved, but completely turns them upside down. And all with the help of a constantly twisting script, which is so cleverly narrated that you won't start twisting at any turn, wondering what we just saw. And when something like that almost happens, like during the key action at the quarry, the voiceover of the main character immediately assures you that you are definitely not alone in it. What surprises me the most is how quickly the story won me over, so that despite the anonymity and ordinariness of the character Patrick, I was scared for him after a few minutes and experienced all the crucial decisions with him. Ben Affleck's directorial certainty is therefore an unimaginable promise for the genre.
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It was "only" a good film until the final reveal, but then it became a great film, one of those that really makes you think about how you would have acted yourself. And that's valuable these days. I love Dennis Lehane's books and it's a good thing that this one I couldn't get hold of for so long and unlike Mystic River or Shutter Island I hadn't read it before the film. My surprise and my experience were all the greater. I think Morgan Freeman gave one of his best performances ever in a relatively small space.
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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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A powerful drama, very well written, but above all brilliantly directed. I’m inclined to agree with the opinion about the intellectual overtones mentioned several times here, the dilemma that is transferred from the main character to the viewer at the end is impressive and the last shot, my God, is perfection itself. And most importantly, the whole narrative has oomph and it doesn't matter if it's the chillingly harsh scene with a paedophile in the second half of the film or a simple dialogue between the two protagonists. A true joy to watch. And Casey Affleck? He articulates weird, he looks weird, he acts weird, but all of that together create a very interesting person that I couldn't take my eyes off. Ben, in the future, act as you did in Hollywoodland, while continuing to develop your undoubted directorial talent, and I have no choice but to repeat myself: "It was a great pleasure."
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