Private detectives "Patrick" (Casey Affleck) and "Angie" (Michelle Monaghan) are drafted in by the mother of a missing girl to try to find out what's happened. This is pretty much virgin territory for the pair, but they are local and so might be able to unearth sources unwilling to discuss with the police efforts being led by "Doyle" (Morgan Freeman). Now it's fair to say that the child's mother "Helene" (Amy Ryan) is probably not the most attentive of parents, but she is determined to be reunited with her daughter. What now ensues follows this investigation into their Boston suburb - one that takes them into contact with crooks, drug dealers and an whole fraternity of dangerous hoodlums. Their searching does, however, start to bear fruit - and not a kind of fruit that they really want to discover. The plot thickens and twists and evidence of just who did what and, as importantly, why emerges that causes quite a moral dilemma for the pair. There is a strong dynamic here between the very much on-form partnership of Affleck and Monaghan and the former's brother (Ben) directs this film with consistent pace and a plausible degree of menace. Serendipity takes just too much of an hand in the ending for my liking, but it's still a compelling and thought provoking story that ends up by asking us all a question - the answer to which is not necessarily straightforward. Freeman really only features sparingly, but there are solid supporting contributions from Ed Harris and, to a lesser extent, from Titus Welliver that all help deliver a taut and intriguing drama that is well worth a watch.
