The Portland police department won't be too happy to see themselves outclassed by Amanda Seyfried's big-eyed, waifish Jill in Heitor Dhalia's moody but middling thriller. Not only does she easily elude their pursuit, but she also sets out to solve some heinous crimes that the PPD's plodding, arrogant bureaucratic minds dismiss as lunacy. Or are they merely incompetent? That's one direction your own detective skills might take before the film sputters to a halt. Why are they so determined to dismiss Jill's tale of being kidnapped a year ago by a psychopath and held in a hole in the forest, even after Jill's sister disappears as well? Maybe Gone should be read as a fairy tale, with young innocents lured into the woods by scary predators, its spooky mood emphasized by a palette of cerulean hues devoid of red and yellow. Seyfried compellingly portrays a woman progressing from victimization to power. She needs a case worthy of her skills.
