Art reflects real life: sometimes with affection, sometimes with brutal honesty that sends a chill down the spine.

Gone Baby Gone, a hard-hitting adaptation of the crime thriller by Dennis Lehane about the abduction of a four-year-old girl, was scheduled for release in December last year, only to be postponed due to similarities to 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 role was called Madeline.

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. 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, right.

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 McCready (O'Brien) vanishes without trace from her bedroom.

The girl's mother, Helene (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 feisty grandmother Bea (Madigan) enlists the services of private investigators Patrick Kenzie (Casey Affleck) and Angie Gennaro (Monaghan) to make their own inquiries.

From its opening scenes, Gone Baby Gone holds us in a vice-like grip as the investigation twists and turns with horrific repercussions.

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