This dark crime drama based on a Dennis Lehane novel is trickier than it appears – and far too tricky for first-time director Ben Affleck. When a 4-year-old girl is abducted from a rough Boston neighborhood, local private investigator Patrick Kenzie (Affleck’s brother Casey) uncovers a tangle of family and police secrets that are anything but black and white. Throughout, there are unsettling implications about how our society values children, yet Affleck is too busy with awkward transitions, a choppy narrative and poorly modulated performances to explore them.
