Afflecks' Gone Baby Gone

The Brothers Affleck have done a mighty fine job with Gone Baby Gone as director (Ben Affleck) and the lead actor (Casey).

Gone Baby Gone is about two Boston area detectives (Casey Affleck and in movie girl friend Michelle Monaghan) looking for a kidnapped girl. As the investigation continues, the two characters unveil the emotional and chaotic story behind the kidnapping.

Casey Affleck shines with his performance. And Morgan Freeman does as well. Ben Affleck can really get great performance out of his actors. Emulating the best of Eastwood and Scorsese, Ben Affleck's directorial debut is very strong. The ethical issues at play are weaved into the movie very gently and the suspense of a child kidnap is not drenched in a saucy moral dilemma.

However, I cannot praise Ben Affleck's story telling/ script writing talent as much as his directing. Some cheesy and awkward lines, choppy scene transitions and unexplained story behind main characters make the story harder to relate to. I would have liked to know why Casey Affleck's character became a detective to understand his dedication to the case, his understanding of the neighborhoods and his relationship to his girlfriend. The girlfriend waivered between being a sidekick and a real detective but appeared in all scenes with equal unexplicable importance.

The narrow camera angles are sometimes suffocating and alienating. When Affleck gets broader shots, the results are beautiful. Affleck was able to capture the beauty of Boston extremely poetically.

Definitely a movie worth watching. I am looking forward to seeing Affleck brothers grow. With a better script writer, Affleck can easily become the next Scorsese.