I’ve never been one to tar and feather a man for his personal life; as long as he’s not hurting anyone, what business is it of ours. This standard applies to Ben Affleck too, a man who had the audacity to lead a life that the tabloids found too delicious to leave alone and stupid people to be too obsessed by. Well, I’m sorry to report that the wags don’t have Affleck to push around anymore. After turning in a nuanced performance as former Superman George Reeves in last year’s Hollywoodland, Affleck further proves his artistic acumens by co-writing and directing Gone Baby Gone, finally capitalizing on the Good Will from Hunting.



Gone Baby Gone is based on a novel by Dennis Lehane, the author of Mystic River, another book that was the basis of an award-worthy movie and it gives Affleck a story that has plenty to work with. The seedy streets of South Boston, a place the director knows well, serves as the backdrop for a story that’s more a what-would-you-do then a whodunit. A morality play dressed up as a low rent PI drama.



The director’s brother, Casey (one of the Malloy Bros from the Oceans films) plays Patrick Kenzie, a private investigator that specializes in missing persons. He’s approached by Lionel and Beatrice McCready (Titus Welliver and Amy Madigan) who know of Kenzie’s rep and want his help finding their niece. The girl’s mother (played to pitched perfection by Amy Ryan) is a coked-up junkie that double-crossed a dealer. Following that line of logic, Kenzie with a determined police Captain (Morgan Freeman) and the lead detective on the case (Ed Harris), set-up a swap, but things go horribly wrong. Or do they?



If the detective story isn’t compelling enough, the movie turns at the three-quarter point to be something more akin to a hypothetical posed in an Ethics class, and you know what, I like that. Director Affleck keeps the action moving nicely, the plot moves at a quick clip but things are never confusing or impossible to follow. This isn’t one of those mysteries that takes great delight in laying out meticulous, double-blind clues to test your visual acuity and how quick you can pick up the jigsaw pieces. Things are frantic, circumstances happen too fast and it’s only after the fact that you can look at the situation again and try to pick up on the bits and pieces.



The younger Affleck is a compelling lead, not exactly the Philip Marlow type of detective, or some kind of Mickey Spillane-style bruiser, but a fascinating character to watch. He’s a Zack Morris street hustler with good connections on both sides of the thin blue line. He’s all about the street smarts, but he’s thrown into a situation where instinct and ethics matter more than the hustle. Affleck also stands up well against veterans Freeman and Harris, he plays at their level the whole picture, there’s no one playing less than their whole game. The one exception is Michelle Monaghan, who plays Kenzie’s partner and girlfriend, she just isn’t given a lot to do and it seemed that neither her absence nor presence would have much impact on the film either way.



As I’ve said the film moves by very quickly, but I think Ben Affleck could still use some lessons in editing. The end kind of drags on, the aftermath of the final revelation seems kind of divorced from the majority of the movie. It would have suit the story better if the final fates of all involved were left a little more ambiguous, rather than spelling it out in exacting, sometimes excruciating detail. I know people like closure, but sometimes closure is just way of eliminating all questions for the sake of giving people answers because it’s what people think they want. Sometimes, it’s okay to just get what we need and allow our minds to fill-in the rest.



Not matter the way the grand finale is constructed, Ben Affleck has proven himself, out of the gate, to be an immensely talented directing talent in a way that he never was as an actor in front of the camera. Not to mention the fact that he’s already showing more promise than some directors on their third or fourth movie. So while the “Bennifer” jokes were hilarious and all, I’ll gladly sacrifice them for more quality work like this on a regular basis. Fiancé driven tabloid fame comes and goes, but quality filmmaking is forever.