Affleck aptly directs brother in gloriously ambivalent film-noir thriller
"Gone Baby Gone," an impressive directorial debut by actor Ben Affleck, cooks up a deliciously ambiguous caldron of conflicting emotions.
It's a dynamic drama seething with moral choices in an amoral world, a story where the last line spoken has the impact to change your view of everything that has come earlier.
Based on Dennis Lehane's book -- the fourth in a series featuring his protagonist partners Patrick Kenzie and Angie Gennaro -- "Gone Baby Gone" begins as a seemingly simple child abduction, then spirals into a complex, combustible case of conflicting complications with more layers than a Bermuda onion.
Affleck's kid brother Casey, already riding high in the critically acclaimed Western "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford," plays Kenzie, a Boston private eye along with his main squeeze Gennaro (Michelle Monaghan).
They know the neighborhood so well that when police investigators, led by Capt. Jack Doyle (Morgan Freeman), can't find a missing child named Amanda, relatives hire Kenzie and Gennaro, who can go places the cops can't.
Amanda's mom Helene (Amy Ryan) has become a media darling as the suffering, tearful mother. But it's a role the news media has cast her in. She's really a druggie and an abusive parent, something Kenzie and Gennaro instantly see.
As the duo digs into the case, public pressure pushes Capt. Doyle into letting the private eyes work with his cynical street detectives Remy Bressant (Ed Harris) and Nick Poole ("Beverly Hills Cop" sergeant John Ashton).
They work on one major lead: A local drug dealer got shorted a large sum of money right before little Amanda disappeared. Could the two events be connected?
Ben Affleck demonstrates a real feel for the detective genre. His scenes are tight, and he directs his little brother into playing a convincing, semi-tough character.
As an actor, Casey Affleck's weak, whiny persona and wispy delivery have relegated him to the sidelines of supporting characters for all of his brief career.
With "Assassination of Jesse James" and now "Gone Baby Gone," Ben's little bro has hit his stride with two roles that perfectly match his thespian abilities.
As Kenzie, Affleck underplays the expected film noir detective as a hard-edged tough guy. His Kenzie is just a baby-faced investigator trying to make a living. Sadly, Monaghan's Gennaro gets less time and opportunity to develop her character.
The plot twists in "Gone Baby Gone" come quick and unexpected. In the hands of the able Affleck (the director one), this tidy little thriller paints our traditional, black-and-white views of the right thing to do in murky shades of gray.
"Gone Baby Gone"
3 1/2 stars
Opens today
Casey Affleck as Patrick Kenzie
Michelle Monaghan as Angie Gennaro
Ed Harris as Remy Bressant
Morgan Freeman as Jack Doyle
John Ashton as Nick Poole
Amy Ryan as Helene McCready
Written by Ben Affleck and Aaron Stockard; based on the novel by Dennis Lehane. Produced by Alan Ladd Jr., David Rissner and Sean Bailey. Directed by Ben Affleck. A Miramax Films release. Rated R (violence, drug use, language). Running time: 115 minutes.