On the Big Board |
Position |
Staff |
In Brief |
6/214 |
Max Braden |
Excellent performances from Affleck and Amy Ryan. Freeman and Harris are overdone but the movie doesn't suffer from them. |
13/46 |
Les Winan |
Oustanding directorial debut for Affleck (Ben). Great acting by Affleck (Casey), Ryan and Monaghan. Nothing with Michael K. Williams can be bad. |
16/48 |
Kim Hollis |
It has some serious flaws, but is thought-provoking and memorable. |
Ben Affleck has received accolades for his writing as he won an Academy Award for the screenplay to Good Will Hunting. He has seen his star rise with big roles in movies like Pearl Harbor and The Sum of All Fears, only to see them fall again as he associated himself with Jennifer Lopez. As the two of them were splashed on the front page of every tabloid in the country, Affleck fatigue set in and he saw a real backlash rise against his work. Affleck will attempt a new career direction as he makes his directorial debut with Gone, Baby, Gone, from a screenplay he wrote with Aaron Stockard.
Based on a novel by Dennis Lehane (who also wrote Mystic River), the movie will center on two private investigators who must search for a kidnapped four-year-old girl in Dorchester, a working class neighborhood in Boston. The duo has a complicated relationship, as they have also been involved in a lifelong love affair that impacts the choices they make.
Lehane is known for creating atmospheric, chilling portrayals of crime and the way it affects both individuals and communities. Whether Affleck will be able to transform that to a big screen adaptation worthy of Mystic River remains to be seen. (Kim Hollis/BOP)
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