Jason watches "Gone Baby Gone"

And it was pretty good. I'm faced with the odd prospect of no longer being able to treat Ben Affleck like a total joke. Last year he proved he still has acting chops playing George Reeves in "Hollywoodland", and now he's actually directed a tight, interesting, well-acted thriller. WTF?

Anyway, in a nutshell Casey Affleck (Ben's brother, and supporting player in Ocean's 11 through 13) is a small-time P.I. hired to investigate a missing little girl. The odd thing is the aunt hires him because the mom is an idiot druggie who's an unfit mother and doesn't seem to care anyway (although that's dismissed as her kind of grieving). Well, things go wrong, but life goes on, until little clues pop up telling him he might have had it wrong all along. It's very deliberately paced, and features outstanding supporting work by Morgan Freeman, Ed Harris, and Titus Welliver (sporting a gigantic mustache).

Also, since every conversation I've had with anyone else who has seen it has involved the ending. I'll try to do this without any spoilers. Specifically, it involves what Casey Affleck does at the end. I'm not saying I agree with it, but it makes perfect sense with his tortured, guilt-ridden, but still idealistic character.