"I was a little tired of being out there as an actor, with my face on the poster, making myself public," says Ben Affleck. Hence his directorial debut (and first feature script since Good Will Hunting), an adaptation of the detective novel by fellow Boston native Dennis Lehane (Mystic River). Casey Affleck and Mission: Impossible III's Monaghan are Patrick Kenzie and Angie Gennaro, romantically involved PIs who take on a high-profile missing child case, comparing notes and clashing with cops played by Harris and Freeman. The book is the fourth in a series, but the movie compresses continuity to make Kenzie less world-weary and more Casey's age. "He's still at a point where the entire story of his life can be affected by something really damaging," says Ben. The Boston shoot helped Casey inhabit his character. "There's something about being able to stand on location and know exactly who's living in those houses," Casey says.