THE CINEMA OF BROTHERLY LOVE

Why should a bright, able-bodied man in his thirties take orders from his big brother? It’s because he’s actor Casey Affleck and he’s being directed in his most important role to date by sibling Ben Affleck, making his directorial debut (unless you count “I Killed My Lesbian Wife, Hung Her on a Meat Hook, and Now I Have a Three-Picture Deal at Disney,” the short he shot in 1993).

In “Gone Baby Gone,” based on the book by “Mystic River’s” Dennis Lehane, the younger Affleck plays a Boston detective who, along with his partner (Michelle Monaghan), reluctantly takes on the horrific case of a four-year-old girl who vanished from her home in a Boston slum. Surprisingly, the private investigators are more hindered than helped in their search by the cops, the child’s dope-addicted mom, and other questionable characters. Morgan Freeman and Ed Harris also star in in this heavy-duty drama, which Miramax Films will release on 10/19/07. Before that, on 9/21/07, Casey will be seen as the villain who shot one of America's most colorful outlaw-heroes in "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford." In case you don't already know it, Jesse is played by the superstar Brad Pitt.