The Best and Worst of Casey Affleck

The "Best and Worst" series profiles the best and worst work of an actor starring in one of the week's new theatrical releases. This week I take a look at the filmography of "Manchester by the Sea" star Casey Affleck.

Films starring Casey Affleck that I've seen:
Chasing Amy
Good Will Hunting
American Pie
American Pie 2
Ocean's Eleven
Ocean's Twelve
Ocean's Thirteen
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
Gone Baby Gone
Tower Heist
Interstellar
Out of the Furnace
The Finest Hours 
Triple 9 

Best Performance: Gone Baby Gone (2007)
Affleck is one of those actors that I feel like Hollywood has slept on for far too long. He's consistently put together strong performances over the course of his 20-year career without receiving any of the fanfare or accolades that typically come with that strong track record. The strongest example of Affleck getting shafted by the year-end awards circuit came in his turn as a Boston-based private investigator in his brother Ben's masterful directorial debut Gone Baby Gone. With his combination of unrelenting intensity and emotional transparency, Affleck was able to turn a potential stock tough-guy character into a rich, emphatic protagonist that is very easy to root for.  

Worst Performance: The Finest Hours (2016)
This is a classic example of bad material failing a good actor. Affleck isn't anywhere near awful in his role as an oil tanker engineer, the character just happens to be a one-note snoozefest that couldn't be made interesting by any actor in the history of cinema.

Best Film: Good Will Hunting (1997)
I really have beaten my love of this film to the death over the course of this series. Coming-of-age dramas have a way of finding soft spots in my mostly black heart and Good Will Hunting is without question among the genre's most moving films. The acting is pretty much perfect, the dialogue is sharp and there are approximately 10-12 scenes that generate a strong emotional reaction from me every single time I watch it.  

Worst Film: Ocean's Twelve (2004) 
As far as I'm concerned, there is no stronger argument against the existence of movie sequels than Ocean's Twelve. The fast-paced fun of the first installment was nowhere to be found in this lifeless, convoluted follow-up. I've honestly seen funeral processions with more joy and energy than this repulsive turd disguised as a piece of entertainment.

Thank you for reading this week's installment of "The Best and Worst of". Next week, I'll take a look at the best and worst work of "Bad Santa 2" star Billy Bob Thornton.