BY: JERRY P

A missing child, a neglectful mother, corrupt cops, and Boston as hell. Ben Affleck makes his directorial debut with a screen adaptation of his favorite book, Dennis Lehane's Gone Baby Gone, starring his younger brother Casey Affleck.

Read Jerry P's full review (including spoilers) in the Bookmans forum.

Gone Baby Gone, Ben Affleck’s first attempt at directing, is based on the novel by Dennis Lehane, whose Mystic River was filmed by another actor-turned-director, Clint Eastwood. Gone Baby Gone is a serious drama complete with missing children, cops who bend the law to suit themselves, lowlife freaks who grovel in the dark, a mother whose maternal instincts leave much to be desired, and has a final ambiguity that leaves you wondering what was the right thing to do.

The city of Boston resembles a suburb in hell and, as the layers are peeled back, things appear to be hard and nasty. Each glimpse makes us shudder and wish we were elsewhere. We visit the realm of the god-awful mother, Helene McCready (Amy Ryan), who was partying while her daughter, Amanda, was home alone with no sitter. She’s a real prize and unbelievably selfish and self-centered. Patrick Kenzie (Casey Affleck) is the youthful PI called in by the concerned aunt and uncle to help in the search for Amanda because he knows his way around the neighborhood. This is home turf for him. The police aren’t happy to have his participation but his connections turn out to be helpful.

Kenzie introduces us to angry bartenders, surly drunks, and your friendly local dope dealer. We meet two rogue cops, Remy Brassant (Ed Harris) and Nick Poole (John Ashton), and their superior officer Jack Doyle (Morgan Freeman). Kenzie and the two cops raid a house where a pedophile may be holed up. Inside are three people of scummy reptilian nature, repellent creatures who stay high and haven’t seen the sun or a bath in months. One wonders how people fall to such depths?

Casey Affleck, in his second starring role, works well with his older brother. Casey outshone Brad Pitt in The Assassination of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford, and he is very good again in Gone Baby Gone. He has an odd habit of talking through his teeth, but he makes it work with his shy, downbeat manner. He has more flint in his character than you would have suspected. He is a determined and righteous man, even to his own detriment, as you will see at the end of the film, which I won’t give away. Another actor who is outstanding was Amy Ryan. She plays the god-awful mother of Amanda and you hate her at the beginning and end of the story. She plays Helene with uninhibited force, as she doesn’t give a damn what people think of her. What you see is what you get - period! Titus Welliver, whom I remember from Deadwood, does a nice turn as Amanda’s uncle.

Be wary of the cops - they are not what they seem. And remember this: moral ambiguity and dark forces roll through this movie like a tsunami.

Gone Baby Gone is now available on DVD.