GONE .. 3.1 ****
Gone" is a surprisingly good thriller, in large part because of its lead character, a young woman who finds herself in a situation which requires the use of her wits and keen powers of observation. Her name is Jill (Amanda Seyfried… the young actress with the big gorgeous eyes). A year ago, she narrowly escaped the clutches of a serial killer who kidnapped her, gagged and bound her with duct tape, and dragged her to a hole in a desolate area of a sprawling forest just outside Portland. Now her sister, a college student named Molly, is missing. Jill is convinced that her kidnapper is responsible; that he must have come back for her, but because she was working the night shift at a local diner, he took Molly instead. Jill must find him before he kills Molly and buries her at the bottom of that same hole she was in, right alongside the remains of several other missing girls.


The odds are not in Jill's favor. After she escaped a year ago , Jill came to the police with no physical evidence, no signs of bodily harm such as defensive wounds or sexual assault, and no description of her kidnapper. She claims she was abducted while she was still in bed, and yet there was no evidence of forced entry into her home. The experience, according to the police, was all in her head – a break with reality. Jill quickly realizes that only she can save her sister. And so, in defiance of the authorities, she arms herself and begins a one-woman city-wide investigation.

There's a fascinating paradox at work, here: Jill uses her brains in a situation where she's so emotionally vested. There's no denying that, above all else, painful memories of her own kidnapping are motivating her. All the same, she understands that locating Molly and bringing her abductor to justice requires a clear head and the ability to reason. . If it were strictly an emotional reaction on her part, if she was nothing more than a crazed vigilante with a gun, we would become so involved with her and the story..

A well done film that is a nail bitter.