Gone Baby Gone (2007)

A private investigator (Casey Affleck) and his assistant and girlfriend (Michelle Monaghan) are hired by the aunt (Amy Madigan) to help the police in the search for her missing 5 year old niece. As they investigate, it becomes obvious that this is not a simple kidnapping and there's more than meets the eye. The first feature film to be directed by Ben Affleck (based on this film and THE TOWN, he's proving to be a better director than actor), this is a potent piece of cinema. Affleck has a genuine eye for the Boston working class neighborhoods as well as its underbelly. At the center of the film is a conundrum: when is the right thing to do the wrong thing to do or, if you prefer, when is the wrong thing to do, the right thing to do. The film doesn't answer the question for us, it just asks it and we have to decide for ourselves. Amy Ryan as the child's drug addicted, promiscuous "white trash" mother received all the critical praise and awards including an Oscar nomination. It's the kind of flashy role that's hard to resist but the real acting honors go to Ed Harris as cop on the case. Based on the novel by Dennis Lehane (MYSTIC RIVER, SHUTTER ISLAND). The muted but effective score is by Harry Gregson Williams. With Morgan Freeman, John Ashton and Titus Welliver.