Gone, Baby, Gone

Ben Affleck is a pain in my ass. Until now, I've always been relatively indifferent to him but his latest escapade has me really steamed. For those of you that don't already know this, Dennis Lehane is an awesome mystery writer. He's one of my favorite authors, a writer whom I greatly admire.

His greatest acclaim has come from Mystic River, which was made into an award-winning movie. Directed by Clint Eastwood, starring Sean Penn, Tim Robbins, Kevin Bacon & others, the movie was surprisingly true to the novel & very well done.

What many people don't know is that before Mystic River, Lehane wrote other books which are even better. His private eye Kenzie/Gennaro series are fantastic books full of mystery & suspense but also tell very compelling human tales. All of his stories are multi-dimensional & complex, delving into touchy subjects but handling them well.

Affleck picked the 4th book in the series - Gone, Baby, Gone - to make into a movie. Why on earth would anyone do that? The characters are progressively & intricately unfolded in these books so telling just one of the stories is a true crime. Make them all into movies or make none of them.

Besides, the Kenzie/Gennaro stories are too complex to condense into a movie. I just don't see how justice could be done to the tales. And from what I'm reading, justice certainly isn't done in this case. The complexities of the story are glossed over, making the plot lines seem convoluted, contrived & full of holes.

The reviews state that viewers are left with enough unanswered questions that they may be turned off of the story altogether, rather than driven to read the book. And the casting of Affleck's brother in the lead role doesn't seem to be a strong choice.

So do yourself a favor this weekend. Instead of seeing this movie, pop into Borders & buy the book for a few bucks less than the price of a movie ticket. Relax & enjoy it in uninterrupted comfort at your leisure.

Then thank your lucky stars for all of the talented authors that give us untold hours of amusement, entertainment, anguish & joy through their carefully crafted words. After that, go buy the other 4 books in the series, you won't regret it.