When is the right thing the wrong thing?

Rating: Null/10 (19 June 2009)

The story opens in a poor section of Boston, where a 4-year old girl has been kidnapped. The police Captain (Morgan Freeman) isn't having any luck with the investigation, so the child's aunt hires two private detectives (Casey Affleck and Michelle Monaghan) to help. Their work takes them into a cruel world where life is very cheap.
This movie really surprised me. First off, it was a tense and scary detective story, but then it became a story about Right and Wrong, leaving the audience to judge the actions and the characters. While it's full of violence, depravity, and bad language, it is a memorable story that deserves to be discussed. The actors are uniformly superb, especially Morgan Freeman in a very sympathetic role. Casey Affleck is excellent as the detective with street cred despite his baby face, and Ed Harris does his usual great job playing a police officer. Boston native Ben Affleck directed the movie and filmed it on location, giving it a sleazy, but apparently accurate look at life in the area.
The moral dilemma posed at the end is not easily answered. I know I was left shaken and sobbing, so sorry for the situation and wondering what I would do. Highly recommended.