The Disappearance of Alice Creed

"Tell him that he must pay the money, that he must do exactly as we ask or we will kill you. You tell him that you have no doubt that we will kill you."

The Disappearance of Alice Creed is a brutal little thriller about a woman who gets kidnapped by two men, who plan to use her to ransom £2 million from her wealthy father. The kidnapping itself goes flawlessly, and once she's securely locked up, there seems to be little that can go wrong to keep the men from getting the money. But, that wouldn't make for a very interesting movie, would it? Things go wrong, and the best-made plan can still end up being a disaster. 

I was somewhat expecting The Disappearance of Alice Creed to be your standard kidnap and escape kind of movie, but I have to give it credit for throwing enough wrinkles in to make itself somewhat unique. The relationships between the two kidnappers and the title character end up being more complex than they initially seemed, and cracks of distrust turn the initially well-executed plan into a situation that perhaps no one will survive.  

There's a strong current of tension that starts with the dialogue-free beginning and continues all the way to the very end. That's pretty impressive, in my opinion, and I hasn't seen many movies lately that keep things that taut for the entire time. In addition to the story, the acting was solid, as well. When a movie really only involves three actors (Gemma Arterton, Martin Compston, and Eddie Marsan), one weak link could ruin it. Thankfully, that's not the case, here.  

Still, I'm not the greatest fan in the world of these kinds of movies, so even a good one like this (and it is good) has a hard time blowing me away. If you're a genre fan, though, I think you'll be pleased.

A taut tight British thriller is always a good watch, and this flick is no different. I will constantly appreciate an actor taking on a role that differs from their previous credits. Arterton did just that as a kidnapped individual who is sealed in a claustrophobic room by two masked men who utilise her as ransom for two million pounds. Hostage, kidnap, ransom, all saturated elements to similar thrillers that rely on unpredictable intense twists to spice up the narrative. Alice Creed is no different, in fact it is so unpredictable that it in itself becomes predictable. Sounds odd right? Let me clarify. Every fifteen minutes there is a twist, could range from a small detail to a large plot device, that attempts to convolute the plot even further. With only three characters on screen, the bonds and relationships between them start to become distorted as the narrative progresses. This is due to the twists. Problem is, when the first few are unpredictable you start to predict what happens next by automatically imagining the most illogical turn within the plot. Thus, the unpredictable becomes predictable. Double crossing, relationship reveals and greed all play a fundamental part to these twisty turns. I admire the ambition and the Hitchcockian style, and for the most part it's a successful low budget thriller. Arterton was excellent, Marsan was electrifying and Compston was well controlled. Blakeson's directing technique, particularly the opening sequence, was substantially gritty and held an evocative sense of realism to the scenario. The characters themselves were functional, however weren't truly worth investing in. They play integral parts, but due to the lack of supporting characters and the short runtime they are only a means to further the plot. Nothing more, which is a shame. The third act does also lose the carefully constructed momentum. It's certainly a watchable thriller with many good aspects, particularly Arterton, but it bites off more than it can chew.

Two British men kidnap the daughter of a rich man and hold her prisoner while negotiating a ransom. It's tightly constructed and the suspense builds amid the changing dynamics of the relationship among the three characters. What keeps it from being a good film, however, is the stupidity of the characters, particularly Alice, the victim, who squanders opportunities to escape because of her idiotic actions. Of course, in these kinds of films, such behavior is used primarily to propel the plot, otherwise the story would end too quickly. Still, it's an impressive feature film debut for writer-director Blakeson and is worth a look.

'The Disappearance of Alice Creed' is possibly the best British film of the year. It's a three-hander so the film could of gone one way or the other, the right way or the wrong way. Thankfully it went the right way. The script and direction is tight and the films twists are very surprising. The audience in the cinema gasped at one scene in particular which you won't see coming at all. I certainly didn't. The film is helped of course by stunning performances from all three actors. Martin Compston from Ken Loach's Sweet Sixteen plays Danny, the younger, twitchier of the two kidnappers who isn't as sweet as he seems. Eddie Marsan as Vic, the older, vicious and intelligent kidnapper. And Gemma Arterton who plays Alice, the spoilt, rich girl in the centre of all the commotion. Those who didn't manage to catch 'Alice Creed' at cinemas missed out. I recommend it to anyone in search of a lean, tight thriller with excellent performances. ****/*****

The title is something that confused me, as we spend the whole time with the titular character, yet at the end of it, comprehension dawns.

Acting: Arterton actually surprised me as in Quantum of Solace, Prince of Persia and Clash of the Titans she was uneven and had this contrived, grating posh accent but here, she speaks in her normal accent and is far more consistent in emoting. Goes to show, you can't write of every actor, even after a couple of so-so performances.

As improved as she is, the other two, Marsan and Compston (particularly the former) overshadow her somewhat. Marsan is a cunning and calculating crook and Compston is his naive accomplice. Marsan is particularly menacing and Compston develops his character pretty well. There's a plot twist involving all three that I personally didn't anticipate in that way.

Plot and Pacing: From the unnerving opening without much dialogue to the gripping conclusion, this, to me, wasn't completely predictable. Budget constraints meant the cast remained a trio, but I would've liked to have seen other important characters mentioned.

Cinematography: Conveys a true sense of sickening planning in Alice's kidnapping, humiliation at the hands of the pair, deception, fear - all pretty much what I'd expect from a thriller of this sort.

Score: What little there was there was good and I loved the Radiohead-sounding song with Bjork-esquire vocals Holy Moly by Cathy Davey, as it's suitably mellow for the end of the film.

Overall: This has been called a glorified stage play by some people, but to me, it felt like a film with nuances concerning characters and much like Hard Candy(comparison as it's also indie and had a small cast) was a really taut thriller that had me glued to the screen all the way through.

This is proof that British Cinema is still alive and well and that every now and again, a little gem will come out. A film with flawed characters with a theme of the selfish desires they share.