Review by Toby Lattimore

Gone (15)

Amanda Seyfried plays the desperate Jill in this tense thriller which revolves around a simple but much-travelled storyline of abduction. Jill believes that the man who kidnapped her years before has returned and taken her sister. Seyfield is convincingly paranoid and struggles to make the police believe her as her original abductor was never found and it is surmised that it is all going on in her head. Detective Powers, Daniel Sunjata (Dark Knight Rises), the man who takes Jill’s ear bashings, is tired of this apparently irate girl and fobs her off. Jill will not give up and takes on her own law-busting investigation.

This film is all about the beautiful Amanda Seyfield. She is on the screen for much of the time and the clues which make up her journey are carefully followed. We see through her eyes, experience her paranoia and pain as the dark secrets and the horrid ordeal she went through are revealed. She takes it all in her stride, at times battling with an unoriginal, drab script.

Gone could work on many levels though. We have a history which could introduce doubt over the state of the main character’s perceptions. Was she really kidnapped? Who is this mysterious and overly helpful Detective Peter Hood played by a creepy Wes Bentley (The Hunger Games)? Who is the villain? But ultimately the big build up has a disappointing ending, despite Seyfried trying to do her best to make something of it. By the time we arrive at this conclusion though we realise we have been gripped and that the relatively inexperienced director, Heitor Dhalia, works well with Seyfried and delivers a marketable product.

65/10