Effective Affleck

Rating: 7/10 (16 March 2009)

Police and private detectives investigate the disappearance of a little girl in Boston. A surprisingly effective directorial debut for Affleck, who creates a grim atmosphere and elicits good performances from his cast, particularly brother Casey as a tough detective and Harris as a grizzled cop. However, Ryan steals the film in a standout performance as the mother of the missing girl, a floozy of a woman. Because of the setting and genre, it invites comparisons to "Mystic River" and "The Departed." It's not as good as either of those, but is an absorbing film nevertheless. One complaint is that the actors, especially Affleck, tend to mumble, necessitating subtitles.