Directed by
J Blakeson
100 minutes
Rated MA
Reviewed by
Sharon Hurst
The Disappearance Of Alice Creed
Synopsis: Vic (Eddie Marsan) and Danny (Martin Compston) meticulously prepare a nondescript suburban house for a carefully planned crime. They then hit the streets and kidnap Alice Creed (Gemma Arterton), the teenage daughter of a very rich man. As Alice is stripped of her clothing, then tied to the bed with a hood over her head we fear the absolute worst. But the girl is not going down without a fight. What ensues is a riveting psychological drama of deception, double crossing, power plays and shifting allegiances where nothing is what it initially seems.J Blakeson is both writer and director of this gripping, taut thriller. For a first time director he shows an incredibly assured hand, working apparently under extremely tight shooting schedules, with only three cast members, and in a totally claustrophobic almost two-dimensional set. (Only near the film’s end does the location vary.)
This is the sort of film I must take care not to reveal too much about, as the plot constantly twists and turns almost from scene to scene. What we, as an audience believe and assume is the nature of the crime in the early sequences, soon proves to be something quite different. What we perceive as the relationships between these characters will also surprise, constantly, right up until the film’s amazing conclusion. No doubt the film was shot on a small budget, and it packs more tension and excitement into its constrained setting and intense plot than many Hollywood blockbusters could do with 100 times the firepower!
Understatement and economy is the order of the day. The film opens straight into a menacing scene, where no words are spoken for many minutes. We simply see the two men buying supplies in a hardware store and then painstakingly making their preparations – soundproofing, putting bolts on the door, constructing a bed in the middle of the room – and already our fears are mounting. When the hapless victim is dragged struggling into a van, we dread what nastiness is to come. Again, all is not what it seems.
The balance of power between the characters is constantly shifting and it is to all the actors’ credit that they make us totally believe in every aspect of the three personalities that emerges. Marsan is extraordinary as the malevolent Vic, seemingly the man with control over Danny and the driver of this heinous crime. Compston brings plenty of twists and turns to Danny, basically a real weasel, and any vague sympathies we may feel for him are soon undercut, just as unexpected sympathy is later aroused for Vic. Arterton is more than just a pretty face – she shows her acting creds with panache, in what must have been a physically gruelling role – manacled, gagged and hooded for much of the time. The sense of terror she displays in many scenes is intense.
This story is so contained, tense and unpredictable that it really had me on the edge of my seat throughout. The emotional intensity never lets up, nor do the twists and turns within the power play, and the many surprising revelations. This is the sort of film-making that is edgy, original and definitely proves that bigger is not necessarily better.
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