Baby Arrives

Rating: Null/10 (5 April 2009)

I love it when I am wrong, and someone that I think doesn't matter surprises me.
Ben Affleck put together some snappy lines in "Good Will," but that project was so ordinary in form it self-destructed. His acting is generally silly. There isn't a role he hasn't deflated.
But here he does three wonderful things.
He selects a story that has shape. Its not like the wimpy "Hunting," that was just a reslicing of genres. This is extraordinarily unexpected.
He directs his brother, who he clearly knows how to communicate with. Casey is by far more talented this way, and benefits from the guidance. Heck, he even got an almost good performance out of Freeman, who has a role just far enough from his ordinary character to surprise a bit.
But the key thing – he is cinematic. There's only one totally amateur moment (when the quarry scene is recalled), but there are many well conceived visualizations of what is happening. Its about tone, visual tone, and he gets it.
I'm wrong about the man. He just needed a slot. Now lets hope he stays there.
Ted's Evaluation -- 3 of 3: Worth watching.