Casey Affleck as Patrick in "Gone Baby Gone."

Approximately 10 years ago, I was poor and single and living in a studio apartment with three cats. But I had cable, a VCR and an endless supply of "Law & Order."

After stumbling across the series one day, I had become suddenly addicted: taping and watching the three different episodes that aired each day on the A&E network.

If I got busy and missed a couple of days, the episodes would pile up and I'd spend a whole Saturday crashed out on a "Law & Order" bender.

Through all of this, I never tired of the somewhat formulaic program. (The tape is always inadmissible.) I even continued watching as "Law & Order" expanded into several different versions, maybe pushing things a bit too far with "Law & Order: Greenwood Park Mall Security."

So, with all those episodes filling valuable space in my brain, it's challenging for me to watch cop dramas on television or film today without seeing them through the ghost of "Law & Order" past.

Such is true with "Gone Baby Gone," Ben Affleck's film directing debut. Starring Affleck's brother, Casey, this cop drama follows private detectives investigating the mystery of a kidnapped little girl.

As I watched, I couldn't help but see this as little more than a pumped-up "Law & Order" episode complete with attractive cops, ugly criminals, tough-guy quips, mysterious misdirections and gritty urban realism.

"Gone Baby Gone" even seemed to end at about an hour -- with a couple of loose ends left untangled -- making it feel just like an episode in a really good TV series, like my favorite "Law & Order" shows of old.

But instead of being gone at that point, Affleck's film -- based on a novel by Dennis Lehane -- takes another unlikely and unearned twist, going on to become a pretty forgettable feature film.

In case you want to watch "Gone Baby Gone" -- which I'd recommend waiting for on DVD -- I won't explain why I see the movie's second-half twist as lame.

I can say that, with the first half of the movie filled with action, we get little insight into the characters to help us understand why they did some strange things revealed in the second half.

While the story doesn't work so well for me, Affleck made several great choices that show promise for him as a director. First, the movie has an interesting and authentic edge because of its inner-city Boston setting -- a location familiar to Affleck, who grew up there.

Likewise, the characters here feel real. While we don't get to know anybody very well, most do more than fill necessary roles to further the story.

While Morgan Freeman and Ed Harris are unsurprising as their usual stoic selves, Amy Ryan, Amy Madigan and Titus Welliver are far more interesting as members of the messed-up family that lost its little girl.

Casey Affleck and Michelle Monaghan are believable and endearing enough as a detective-team couple in the middle of a somewhat strained romantic relationship.

I liked all of them enough to tune in next week for another episode.