Why is ben affleck a bad actor

Affleck seems to know how to draw top-notch, emotionally engaged work out of every one of his actors — all, that is, except himself. Live b y Night has some serious flaws, namely the story, which is a mess, and the character of Coughlin, who is far too self-serving. Set in a gentrifying contemporary Boston marked by professional haves and townie have-nots, the movie boasts a lived-in sense of place, and is unusually attuned to the travails of the urban white working class. Much the same could be said about Gone Baby Gone , a startlingly powerful detective story that is also among the most morally nuanced crime films of the past decade.

Like The Town , Gone Baby Gone exhibits a deep sense of place and purpose: The brief opening sequence captures the vibe of working-class Boston — the streets, the people, the factories, the sky — with the same unfussy elegance as Live b y Night captures Prohibition-era Florida. The dialogue , from a script Affleck co-wrote, is sly and truthful.

It, too, boasts a handful of excellent performances, in particular Ed Harris as a hard-bitten police detective. I hardly need to make the case for how good it is, though — it won the Academy Award for Best Picture, for crying out loud. He has always been more than an actor. Affleck is a startlingly good filmmaker, and he has the potential — the ambition, the eye, the raw talent — to be a great one.

Honestly, he seems a little bit sad. Our mission has never been more vital than it is in this moment: to empower through understanding. Financial contributions from our readers are a critical part of supporting our resource-intensive work and help us keep our journalism free for all.

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Reddit Pocket Flipboard Email. Ar-go back behind the camera, Ben. Warner Bros. He admits his career choices have been erratic. At certain points, I've felt I've cared more than at other times: sometimes it's just been about making money; sometimes it's just been about trying to get a job; sometimes it has been like being a deer in the headlights and being on certain types of sets I've never been on before; sometimes it's been about the thrill of working with certain people, or the pressure of trying to be Jack Ryan [Affleck played the Tom Clancy character in The Sum of All Fears].

For the last three years, stepping into doing Hollywoodland and then doing this movie and going forward, it's been about nothing else except wanting to do something and making it really good. The biggest change to his life has been the birth of his child.

I always thought I was a caring guy, but it has made me feel things more acutely. But it wasn't fatherhood that led him to Gone Baby Gone. This story says that we're not taking care of children as well as we could in society, and I found that pretty moving. Also, it's about the way the media cover certain cases of kidnapping and that there is a certain hypocrisy in shouting so loudly on the television about one thing and totally neglecting to talk about thousands and thousands of others.

Why cast his brother Casey, who, since his turn in The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, is getting the plaudits once seemed destined for him? The only thing that did concern me was that my decision could be viewed as nepotism. But I knew he was good for the movie and had every confidence he'd be positively received when the film came out. This film was too important to me to take any risks or to do anybody any favours. That is a tremendous asset.

Now, when Casey does his next movie, people know he's good and he'll make less of an impact. Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies. Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today. Already subscribed? Is there something particularly dark and intense about the world of Batman that feeds into a kind of existential malaise for actors who find themselves trying to embody its main players on screen?

This is a reasonable argument to pursue in the case of Ledger, whose Joker was a poisonous whirlwind of vicious, sadistic nihilism — a venus flytrap for the dedicated method actor. It ought to have been something of a fun role to play, with stand-in director and screenwriter Joss Whedon throwing in trademark japes from the sidelines, yet it never seems to have been enjoyable.

Affleck never really got the chance to pursue his own vision for the character, having ultimately opted out of directing and starring in the forthcoming The Batman in the interests of his own mental health. This is a fledgling, punky Batman, one who might be just starting out on his battles to save Gotham City and who looks all the more intriguing for it.