‘Bye Little Bye’, welcome, new Affleck

Until now Ben Affleck he had made us suffer a lot by putting himself in front of the camera in endless movies; sometimes, thanks to the quality of the film, we put up with him, and other times we didn’t know where to hide. About the Oscar with Matt Damon for the script of ‘Indomitable Will Hunting’, there are many dark points, and if not ask William Goldman. When the news spread that Affleck was directing a film, and that it was also a serious product, based on a novel by an author with some prestige, and with a more than decent cast, some of us began to tremble, because we feared the worst. . Would Ben Affleck be able, after martyring us as an actor, to do the same or worse by directing? Well, fortunately not, and although the results are not to make you jump for joy and shout with enormous joy, they are decent enough to consider Affleck as a director to keep track of.

The story of ‘Bye Little Bye’, which adapts a book by Dennis Lehane, is set in the city of Boston in the low suburbs, where a little girl has been kidnapped. The little girl’s uncles, completely desperate because her mother is a drug addict, hire a couple of private detectives to help find the little girl, helping in the police investigation. The case will begin to affect everyone in a very different way.

‘Bye Little Bye’, welcome, new Affleck

‘Bye Little Bye’ is a thriller in the best tradition of the genre. We have an apparently simple case, but about which more things are hidden, we have the detective couple, and we have a Boston neighborhood, full of all kinds of characters, some of the worst possible ilk. In that description of characters is where Affleck is completely right at the beginning of his film, which uses its first half hour to introduce us to the people of the neighborhood, some people that the director seems to know very well since his childhood, conveying a certain sense of familiarity very well. It is surprising, then, that the director has stopped so much to describe with enough success a gallery of characters who are, of course, among the best of the film.

Obviously, the performances of almost all of its cast help, especially the secondary ones, each of which has its moment of glory, so to speak. Ed Harris proves once again that his Oscar is already taking time, and that this type of role suits him like a glove. Morgan Freeman is simply and simply one of the best actors of all time, for whom acting costs absolutely nothing, and although his participation here almost seems like a buddy, he has the vital importance of him in the story. And Amy Ryan, giving life to the mother of the missing girl, is simply superb, turning out to be another of the surprises of this interesting film. Amy Madigan also appears, but her character is one of those seen and unseen.

I said almost, because If there is something wrong with the film, it is its leading couple. Ben Affleck He frees us from his presence, but in exchange he places his brother Casey on us, so I don’t know if we will have benefited from the change, which I suppose so, but there are several moments in which the actor reminds me of the director, putting on the same bland face that he put on in his films as an actor. The character is too big for him. But next to her, Michelle Monaghan comes off even worse, in a really useless role and practically for decoration, completely missing out on serving as a counterpoint to the main character. In fact, the movie works perfectly without it.

As I said before, Ben Affleck surprises in his first job as a director, although all that glitters is not gold. In fact, Affleck suffers from certain irregularities in the internal rhythm of the film, which is divided into two well-differentiated parts, in which our attention is not captured enough that it should at times. To these downturns we must add that the director is not too capable, yet, to resolve certain action scenes, or the occasional moment of suspense. In this regard, mention a sequence in which a character appears disguised with a mask in a bar carrying a weapon, a poorly resolved moment that borders on the most absolute ridiculousness. But Affleck has done his homework and marks a really superb final fifteen minutes, one of the best seen on a screen lately. Not only does the film close with a completely risky scene due to how anti-commercial it is, but it also is capable of making us think and debate without any kind of Manichaeismsomething that is appreciated in these times.

a correct movie, quite entertaining and which is followed with interest, awakening in the moviegoer the desire that Ben Affleck make a great movie soon. Of course he points ways, and I bet he will get it.

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