When it was announced that Ben Affleck was going to make his directorial debut with Dennis Lehane’s Gone Baby Gone, fans of the Angie/Patrick novels have been understandably nervous about this. The Boston P.I.s are as popular as any mystery protagonists from recent years.
Those concerns were amplified when he cast his younger brother as Patrick.
Back in April, I spoke with somebody that had seen an early cut of the film. He really enjoyed it and thought it was a great film.
Then in July, Kevin Smith praised the film: “it’s a wonderful film. It’s an insanely strong directorial debut.”
The film debuted this week at the Deauville Film Festival in France.
The film received a standing ovation from the audience, and the critics seem rather pleased as well.
The Hollywood Reporter especially loved the film saying “it’s going to be remembered as one of the best crime movies of the decade.”
Variety liked it (“Casey Affleck shows low-key but potent acting chops to be reckoned with“) but had some issues with the story.
Read the Hollywood Reporter review.
Read the Variety review.
Check out the official web site.
