Pathetic

Rating: 3/10 (18 March 2008)

I find it amazing that viewers seem to like this film. The plot is transparently obvious, so most of the time I found myself just waiting to see what sort of complications would be thrown at us in what seemed a half-hearted attempt to create suspense. There were so many red herrings and so many holes in the plot that the whole thing smelled fishy before it was halfway through, while the second half smelled cheesy. I couldn't decide which was worse--the acting (except for Amy Ryan), the completely unbelievable story, or the even more unbelievable casting. Casey Affleck as a private detective who tracks missing persons? Give me a break! First of all, as his film wife says, he certainly does look too young for the part: but worse, his wiseguy/homeboy character could never get away with the things he's made to say. And sorry, the guy simply cannot act: as the saying goes, he couldn't act his way out of a paper bag, which is exactly what this film was. Ed Harris and Morgan Freeman at times looked like they were embarrassed to be in this thing, but everybody should have been. Reviewers make much of the fact that this is Ben Affleck's "directorial debut." Well, he has a long way to go yet. Back to school, Afflecks: Ben to director's class, Casey to acting.