I was told about this film whose original name is SHE'S GONE by the owner of my local DVD rental outlet since it had been partly shot in Malta. From the title(s), it seemed like a typical 'search for a missing person' thriller but another point of interest was that it starred stalwart Brit actor Ray Winstone, who gives his typically committed performance.
Even so, I was surprised to find the film not only tolerable but reasonably compelling throughout; incidentally, since the hero's daughter (the missing party) turns out to have been 'operating' in seedy environments and was involved with shady and/or sinister-looking characters (not to mention Winstone's own inherently gruff nature), the narrative can be seen to have similarities with (albeit no match for) the likes of GET CARTER (1971) and HARDCORE (1978). His investigation eventually leads him to high-ranking officials who are chummy with aging perverts involved in human trafficking, a prostitute who impersonates the girl so as to misdirect Winstone into thinking his daughter has returned home, the realization that the teenager herself was a lesbian and that she may have left home knowing he would never have accepted her like this, etc.
As it happens, the Maltese locales are supposed to mirror an Istanbul setting but they're quite effectively used, lending the whole the appropriate exotic look. However, the ending to the entire mystery results in being both abrupt and, frankly, quite lame!
Even so, I was surprised to find the film not only tolerable but reasonably compelling throughout; incidentally, since the hero's daughter (the missing party) turns out to have been 'operating' in seedy environments and was involved with shady and/or sinister-looking characters (not to mention Winstone's own inherently gruff nature), the narrative can be seen to have similarities with (albeit no match for) the likes of GET CARTER (1971) and HARDCORE (1978). His investigation eventually leads him to high-ranking officials who are chummy with aging perverts involved in human trafficking, a prostitute who impersonates the girl so as to misdirect Winstone into thinking his daughter has returned home, the realization that the teenager herself was a lesbian and that she may have left home knowing he would never have accepted her like this, etc.
As it happens, the Maltese locales are supposed to mirror an Istanbul setting but they're quite effectively used, lending the whole the appropriate exotic look. However, the ending to the entire mystery results in being both abrupt and, frankly, quite lame!