missing the glaringly obvious

Reviewing the movie Gone Baby Gone, Manohla Dargis writes:

I’m not sure exactly when Casey Affleck became such a good actor.

And then she goes on to name Affleck’s most recent appearances in the Ocean’s series, Gerry, and The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, unaccountably missing the performance that immediately marked him as an actor to watch:

Good Will Hunting. Duh!

Dargis should have been watching more carefully ten years ago. Yes, thanks to the Miramax publicity machine, that film became The Ben and Matt Show, but that doesn’t excuse her blindness to Casey’s obvious talent. Especially since, back then, he did the exact same thing she praises him for in his new film (directed this time by big bro Ben, who is a terrible actor):

[Casey Affleck] didn’t plead the character’s case or remind us of his own humanity; he just played the role.

Yep.