An All To Real Tragedy

Ben Affleck - the actor more recently known for a slew of turkeys and the farcical "Bennifer" saga - was once the toast of Hollywood after his screenwriting Oscar for Good Will Hunting.

Now he's back on track with his directorial debut Gone Baby Gone which features an Academy Award-nominated performance from The Wire's Amy Ryan.

British audiences are going to have to be patient however.

Although the actress has been receiving rave reviews across the board for her portrayal of an unfit mother whose four-year-old daughter is kidnapped, audiences in the UK may have to wait a while to see the movie itself.

The film's British distributors spotted the story's resemblence to the case of missing Madeleine McCann and pulled it from the UK release roster.

Both children are four years old when they are seized, the American actress playing the girl is called Madeline O'Brien (the US spelling differs) and the physical similarities are startling.

The hunt for the youngster also takes place - like the McCanns search from Portugal to across Europe and North Africa - in the unyielding glare of the media spotlight.

However, unlike the utterly correct, resourceful McCanns, the American mother is a hopeless drug addict with criminal connections. The narrative also veers off into the sordid world of ex-cons, paedophiles and dodgy cops.

"Disney UK made the decision to postpone the movie but I absolutely support it," says Affleck. "I'm pleased by what I think is erring on the side of good taste.

There's no rush. It's obviously a sensitive time and if there are any similarities we can wait to distribute the movie in the UK."

Set in a run-down area of Affleck's home town of Boston and based on a detective novel by Mystic River writer Dennis Lehane, the movie also stars his brother Casey, who recently won plaudits for The Assassination of the Outlaw Jesse James.

As part of his preparation, Affleck worked closely with America's National Center for Missing and Exploited Children to learn more about child abductions.

"I was horrified at the prevalence of sexual abuse and of familial abductions," he says. "I couldn't believe it. By far the biggest danger to children is not abduction by a stranger but by an acquaintance or family member."

Affleck, who has a 20-month-old daughter, continues: "It's the worst thing by far that could possibly happen to a parent. It's an extremely powerful subject so it has to be handled delicately."

Tim Evans