Ben Affleck’s directorial debut – starring his younger brother Casey – was set for UK release in December 07. Then Madeleine McCann went missing, and suddenly Gone Baby Gone, a story that begins with a blonde-haired tot being stolen from her bedroom, seemed to play too close to the bone. The release was pushed back six months, and the film will finally open here on June 6th.
In the meantime, it’s garnered considerable acclaim – “The brothers Affleck both emerge triumphant in this mesmerizing thriller”, cheered Rolling Stone; “a satisfyingly tough look into conscience”, said the New York Times. On metacritic it gets a very respectable 72%. Supporting actress Amy Ryan even got nominated for an Academy Award for her role as the gone baby’s drug addicted mom.
It’s nice that Ben Affleck has come good, some ten years after he first stole hearts in a shellsuit and a silver chain. The talent he and Matt Damon displayed (and won an Oscar for) when they wrote Good Will Hunting – expertly digging at the soft parts of human relationships without getting slushy – was hardly done justice by some of Affleck’s subsequent career moves (Armageddon, Forces of Nature, Pearl Harbor, Jersey Girl). A doomed relationship with J-Lo and the Bennifer label didn’t help his profile.
So it’s with restored hope in our ability to renew our best selves that I recommend this trailer. Ben seems to have found his calling behind the camera, while his younger brother looks right at home on the other side (“I’m not sure exactly when Casey Affleck became such a good actor”, swooned Manohla Dargis).
Go Afflecks go!
wow… this looks amazing! (a couple of Wire actors too, which can only be a good thing…)