Cinema: Affleck crafts a tale of corruption and twisted love.

Byline: TARA CAIN

GONE BABY GONE (15) STARS: Amy Ryan, Casey Affleck, Michelle Monaghan, Morgan Freeman, Ed Harris, John Ashton..DIRECTOR: Ben Affleck

THIS hard-hitting adaptation of the crime thriller by Dennis Lehane about the abduction of a four-year-old girl, finally hits the screens the UK after being postponed due to its similarities with the Madeleine McCann case.

The child in the film was almost the same age, the character's name slightly similar (Amanda McCready) and in a spooky twist, the young actress playing the pivotal role was called Madeline.

With another six months passed, Ben Affleck's directorial debut finally opens at UK cinemas laden with numerous awards including an Oscar nomination for Amy Ryan as Best Supporting Actress.

And the plaudits are well deserved.

Gone Baby Gone is a riveting tale of corruption and twisted love, sharply scripted by Affleck and long-time friend Aaron Stockard, with tour-de-force performances from a stellar cast led by the director's brother.

Affleck and cinematographer John Toll capture the rough and tumble of Boston by shooting on location, employing local people in minor roles to give the peripheral characters a gritty authenticity which begins with the distinctive, thick drawl.

It is in one of the city's poorest neighbourhoods that little Amanda vanishes without trace from her bedroom.

The girl's mother, Helene (Amy Ryan), makes a television appeal for her safe return while police swarm the scene, led by Captain Jack Doyle (Freeman).

Frustrated by the lack of police progress, the girl's grandmother enlists the services of two private investigators Patrick McKenzie (Casey Affleck) and Angie Gennaro (Monaghan).

They have contacts in the city's underbelly who would never share information with the police.

As they gather evidence about the missing child's final hours, they expose a web of deceit and lies which appears to implicate everyone involved in the case.

From its opening scenes of city life accompanied by Patrick's voiceover, Gone Baby Gone holds us in a vice-like grip as the investigation twists and turns with horrific repercussions.

Performances are excellent across the board from Casey Affleck's somewhat naive and doomed hero to Ryan's ballsy portrayal of a foul-mouthed drug addict who may not be fit to raise her child.

The narrative wrong-foots us right up to the closing frames, when one character faces an agonising moral dilemma that will provoke heated debate for weeks.

VERDICT: *****

CAPTION(S):

DISTINCTIVE... Ben Affleck shot the film on location in Boston.; GRITTY THRILLER... Gone Baby Gone (15) sees Casey Affleck (above) as private investigator Patrick McKenzie and (left) with Amy Ryan as drug addict mum Helene, whose four-year-old daughter is abducted in the film; and (far left) John Ashton and Ed Harris as police detectives probing the mystery.