The Films of Ben Affleck
Gone Baby Gone (November 13/07)
Based on the novel by Dennis Lehane, Gone Baby Gone follows private investigator Patrick Kenzie (Casey Affleck) as he attempts to solve the mystery surrounding the disappearance of a young girl. Actor Ben Affleck makes his directorial debut here, and it goes without saying that the film is a far more accomplished and flat-out compelling piece of work than anybody could've expected. While Affleck's visual sense quickly proves to be fairly underwhelming, the actor-turned-filmmaker does a superb job of eliciting uniformly strong performances from his actors - with the eye-opening work of his younger brother certainly the most obvious example of this. The elder Affleck, working from his and Aaron Stockard's screenplay, has infused the proceedings with an appropriately slow and methodical sensibility, and it's certainly worth noting that the film does possess an unexpectedly authentic feel (some of the third-act twists notwithstanding). Ultimately, however, Gone Baby Gone is just an interesting story told exceedingly well and there's little doubt that the movie's thought-provoking conclusion is destined to leave viewers thinking and talking long after the end credits have rolled.
out of
The Town (November 5/10)
Ben Affleck's followup to 2007's Gone Baby Gone, The Town details a grizzled FBI agent's (Jon Hamm's Adam Frawley) ongoing efforts at taking down a crew of armed thieves - with complications ensuing as one of the criminals (Ben Affleck's Doug MacRay) finds himself falling for recently-robbed bank manager Claire Keesey (Rebecca Hall). Affleck, working from a script cowritten with Peter Craig and Aaron Stockard, does a superb job of garnering the viewer's interest and attention right from from the get-go, as the filmmaker has infused the proceedings with an atmosphere of palpable authenticity that's heightened by the cast's uniformly strong work - with Affleck himself delivering one of the most compelling performances of his career. There's consequently little doubt that the familiarity of the storyline is rarely as problematic as one might've anticipated, with the movie's slick blend of thriller and melodramatic elements handled surprisingly well by Affleck (and it certainly doesn't hurt that the director has peppered the proceedings with a number of seriously electrifying sequences). And although there's admittedly a bit of a lull in the build-up to the movie's final heist (which is, when it finally does come, undoubtedly worth the wait), The Town is otherwise a solid, thoroughly invigorating piece of work that confirms Affleck's place as one of the most promising new filmmakers to come around in quite some time.
out of
