'Gone Baby Gone' keeps you guessing

When a little girl vanishes from her bedroom in one of Boston’s poorest neighbourhoods, her distraught mother (Amy Ryan) makes a television appeal for her safe return.

Captain Jack Doyle (Morgan Freeman) and the local police force fail to find any leads, so the girl’s grandmother (Amy Madigan) enlists private investigators Patrick Kenzie (Casey Affleck) and Angie Gennaro (Michelle Monaghan).

As they gather evidence, Patrick and Angie forge an uneasy alliance with a renegade cop Detective Remy Bressant (Ed Harris), exposing a web of deceit that ensnares at least one high-ranking figure.

Adapted from Dennis Lehane’s crime novel, Ben Affleck’s directorial debut is a riveting tale which he sharply scripted with long-time friend Aaron Stockard.

'Gone Baby Gone' holds us in a vice-like grip as the investigation twists and turns with horrific repercussions.

It’s a deliberate slow burner, but Affleck injects pace with a couple of expertly choreographed action set-pieces.

The performances are excellent, from Affleck’s somewhat naive hero and Monaghan’s stoic sidekick to Ryan’s ballsy drug addict mother.

The narrative wrong-foots us right up to the closing frames, when one character faces an agonising moral dilemma that will divide viewers.

DVD extras include an extended ending, deleted scenes and featurettes.

Rating: 4/5