Into the Fire

I need to qualify my title for this post. The language in the film is absolutely beyond terrible. Yet it fits. I hate to say that because experiencing it is like being assaulted with a jackhammer. The subject matter and all but the characters played by Casey Affleck and Michelle Monaghan, two lovers who are private investigator partners, are despicable, suspicious, unlikable, or all three.

This is an adaptation of a novel written by the same author who created Mystic River. That says volumes. I will most likely never again attend a film which is taken from one of Dennis Lehane’s books. While thoughtful and challenging within the framework of basic morality and decency, Lehane’s stories twist with a vice-like grip on the rights and wrongs of critical decision making. And it hurts.

Ben Affleck directs his brother and veterans Morgan Freeman and Ed Harris among other good character actors without a wrinkle. He took a difficult plot and rode it hard to the bitter end without flinching. There’s just no way to watch this movie without pain, disgust, and the nagging feeling that something just feels wrong. Shortly after the private investigators get involved to “augment” the search for a missing child, their alliance with the police seems both forced and suspect. We’re never quite sure who we can trust—if anyone besides the two PIs.

From beginning to end the question of what is just and right as opposed to what is desirable and acceptable forces the audience to get squeamish in the seats and ultimately come to their own gut-wrenching conclusions. The ending is brutal and honest and . . . sad.

This is a film without a gratifying ending—a film which attacks the ears and soul with ugly language and people to match while confusing the mind with corruption entwined in both good and evil motives. Decisions are made which bring remorse, destruction, sorrow, and a form of justice which doesn’t satisfy. It’s well done, but I can’t recommend it. Too crude, too harsh. Go baby go to Gone Baby Gone at your own risk.

Father, I pray for Ben Affleck. You’ve given him skills and talent which could be magnified if used specifically for your glory. The only way for that to happen is for him to know you personally, Jesus. Let him know how much you love him, Lord. Let him see your brilliance, and desire to know you the way you want to be known. Watch over him, Lord, and save his soul. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.