The mean streets of Dorchester

Rating: 6/10 (18 July 2017)

Gone Baby Gone (2007) is a crime drama co-written and directed by Ben Affleck. It stars Casey Affleck as Patrick Kenzie, a private detective who works in Dorchester. Dorchester is a huge neighborhood in Boston. It contains upscale areas but also some really rough spots. The overall crime rate in Dorchester is 30% higher than the national average, so it's not a very peaceful place.
The premise of the movie is that Kenzie grew up in Dorchester and knows everyone in his neighborhood. He's hired to find a kidnapped girl by the girl's aunt. The thought is that he can talk to people who wouldn't talk to the police. As it turns out, the aunt is right and Kenzie learns things by talking to people who will talk to him.
The supporting cast is very strong. Michelle Monaghan portrays Angie Gennaro, Kenzie's lover and his detective partner. Morgan Freeman portrays Jack Doyle, the head of the kidnapping squad, and Ed Harris portrays Remy Bressant, one of the detectives assigned to the case. They all do well in their supporting roles.
The problem for me is that I think Casey Affleck was the wrong actor for this role. Director Affleck knew that. There's a line where Kenzie tells the police something like, "I may look young, but I'm 31." In fact, Affleck really was 31 when the movie was produced. However, he looks more like an Explorer Scout working on his Law and Justice merit badge than he looks like a street-hardened private detective.
Truth in reviewing--there were so many very bad guys, pretty bad guys, and somewhat bad guys in the movie that I lost track of which bad guy was on the screen at any given moment. Win some, lose some.
However, I have to admit that the basic question raised by the film was interesting and not easy to answer. The question is whether the end justifies the means. Do you do what the law says is right, or do you do what may well be wrong, but could have a better outcome?
Although I believe Affleck was the wrong actor for this role at that time, he portrays his doubts about the case very well. (I should say that I thought Affleck was superb in Manchester by the Sea. In 2016 he was the right actor in the right role.)
This movie worked well enough on DVD. It has an excellent 7.7 IMDb rating. I may be overly critical, but it just didn't work for me.