Ben Affleck missed his chance

Rating: 8/10 (31 October 2007)

The best fiction takes the implausible and renders it believable. Those that have seen Mystic River, A History of Violence, and Monsters Ball should know what I am getting at. Each of these films is flawless, or the flaws imperceptible. The characters in Gone, Baby, Gone were well flushed out and believable. and more than 95% of the movie was tight and masterfully drawn. Amy Ryan did a wonderful job portraying the mother of the kidnapped girl. Cassey Affleck presented as too young and green to undertake the job of finding the abducted girl, but rose to the occasion, again believable. Each of the main characters was convincing. However, two flaws (tricks used in lesser films)render it a good, but not great movie. Thus far I ave avoided spoilers, but the two critical pieces to my argument are. At the transition between the two child abduction cases Cassey is clear the case was never solved, yet we learn different at the climax. The other is When Cassey has an epiphany about who kidnapped the girl he includes data that the viewer saw, but him in his role. Using Ed Harris, Morgan Freeman, Amy Ryan, I would think Ben Affleck may have guessed at the movies potential and would have rewrote those two scenes. My guess is he didn't see the masterpiece potential. The disturbing subject material will limit the audience, and the box office receipts. And the poor treatment in the above knocks it out of the masterpiece box. Ben Affleck has potential as a great film maker and I hope during his his next venture he spend a little more time tightening it.