The Disappearance of Alice Creed

Extremely tense, beautifully shot, generally well (if not quite brilliantly) acted, this is a clever and effective exercise on making an exciting film on a tiny budget. Even though about 75% of this kidnapping tale takes place in a two room apartment, director/writer Blakeson finds enough effective and compelling ways to photograph his tiny set, and enough sharp plot twists and reveals that any claustrophobia becomes a plus not a problem.

There are a few times when credulity is stretched, and a few plot turns that have that sense of being a 'clever twist' instead of something organic to the characters or the story (you can feel them as they're where the acting is less strong, you can see the actors strain to make them 'work'), but neither shortcoming is enough to keep this from being a highly entertaining, and even ultimately oddly touching nail-biter.

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 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.

This is a fine example of what can be done with a small budget but a decent script and some good actors.

The cast is precisely three and rarely can a film have ever been made that has the entire screen time taken up by so few people. This makes the film quite claustrophobic which is a pretty effective technique given the plot. The films does build up a nice degree of tension and whilst the plot is simple there are plenty of genuine surprises along the way although a stronger ending would have made this an even better film.

All three actors are very good but particularly impressive is Eddie Marsan as the older of the two kidnappers who is genuinely menacing.

This is a raw and at times violent film but well worth a watch if you are looking for something just a bit different.

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.