Can we finally say Ben Affleck is a better filmmaker than he is an actor? He definitely has the knack for screenwriting as Good Will Hunting (co-written with Matt Damon) and Gone Baby Gone are both great scripts, and now he proves he can direct with the very well composed Gone Baby Gone with his brother Casey Affleck in the lead. Don't get me wrong, I actually enjoy Ben in bit roles such as his performances in Good Will Hunting, Smokin' Aces and even Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, but as a lead actor he is just the shits. Since he isn't found anywhere inside Gone Baby Gone we don't have to worry about that this time around and we have a great film to make up for it.

Affleck's directorial debut is based on the Dennis Lehane novel of the same name telling a story that takes place in Affleck's hometown of Boston as a little girl has gone missing. While the police investigate, the aunt of the victim hires 30-something private detectives Patrick (Casey Affleck) and Angie (Michelle Monaghan) to augment the investigation to see what they can dig up. Knowing the folks that won't talk to the police Patrick and Angie dig up dirt in some of the areas you would never expect as this crime story has twists and turns at every corner.

Aside from a few rookie mistakes (especially in editing) Affleck proves to be a very capable director and it was also nice to hear his commentary track with co-writer Aaron Stockard in which he talks us through his decision making and isn't shy about pointing out some of his mistakes. One interesting comment he makes was in reference to the look of the film and how he thought the DVD version actually looked truer to his original vision than it did on film. He yammered on about color correction and all this and that, but the bottom line was that he seemed to believe that the home video version actually represented his desired look for the film, this is something I don't believe I have ever heard anyone say before. I just wonder if he was watching the DVD or Blu-ray edition, because I will say the Blu-ray version looks outstanding.

Recently I said Crimson Tide was the best looking high-definition video I had watched to date (HD DVD or Blu-ray) and while Gone Baby Gone doesn't steal that distinction, it does deserve some credit for its quality, but this is a different look than Crimson Tide. Crimson Tide used a color palette that was far more limited while Affleck runs the spectrum with Gone Baby Gone, taking advantage of his environments from sunrise to sunset and in high def it looks glorious.

Other special features include some deleted scenes, most of which are dedicated to character development with Patrick and Angie as well as an alternate opening sequence that may have actually worked and an alternate ending that I did not prefer as you hear Patrick's voice in voice over. While his comments at the end still leave some ambiguity to what his character is thinking I think the silence makes it far more thought provoking. Beyond that you have a couple of making of featurettes and that is about it.

Gone Baby Gone is a fantastic film that will call into play your own morals and at the end of the film it leaves a lot open for interpretation, which I think any good movie of this sort does. Affleck does a good job leading you down a path but never making decisions for you or even the characters as they are well acted and fleshed out and left to make up their own minds. The decisions the characters make are believable and you never doubt their authenticity. All of these things make for a good movie and that is exactly what Gone Baby Gone is.