THE DISAPPEARANCE OF ALICE CREED: Movie Review

Posted by: "Prinz" Lee Romero  Posted: 08-11-2010 Print Article Email to a friend RSS Twitter Facebook

If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a thousand times - LESS is in fact MORE! I enjoy films of all calibers; however, at times it’s clear that a [good film] doesn’t necessarily need an all star cast or a heavy-hitting name behind it. The art of passionate simplicity in The Disappearance of Alice Creed couldn’t be any clearer. This film can easily be misinterpreted as another "torture porn" film in the vein of Saw or Hostel, however, it's actually nothing like that. Instead, the British import, Alice Creed takes a well prepared kidnapping and turns it upside-down but not before many twists and turns in the midst of it is unveiled. There are scenes of violence as well as sexual situations and language but it is far from over the top and used sparingly without being exploitive.

Two men - one in his twenties, the other nearer forty, both intensely focused on the task at hand - line the inside of a transit van with plastic. Shopping, they buy a drill, a mattress and other supplies. In a small flat they assemble a bed for the mattress and staple foam insulation and board to the walls and windows of a bedroom. Then, their meticulous preparations complete, they kidnap a young woman. They drag her from the street into the back of the van and, with a bag over her head and ball gag in her mouth, take her back to the flat, tying her to the bed in the room they have converted into a prison cell. The kidnappers are Danny and Vic, two ex-cons planning to make a mint on the ransom for the young woman. The younger, nervier of the two, Danny defers to the more experienced Vic, who acts with a steely conviction. Their hostage is Alice Creed, daughter of a rich businessman, chosen by Vic and Danny as their passport to a better life. Terrified and immobile at first, it soon becomes clear that Alice isn't about to let her captors use her as capital without a fight. As determined to escape as Vic and Danny are to succeed, Alice enters into a battle of wills which strains the already fractious relationship between the two men. As the deadline for the exchange draws nearer, all three are brought close to breaking point, with Vic and Danny's foolproof plan descending into a desperate struggle for survival.

This film reminded me a bit of an earlier British crime thriller, Shallow Grave. All may not be what it seems and to say anything more would be unforgivable. The plot twists keep coming and I enjoyed every turn. Cleverly presented, I WILL NOT expose any of them – too good for spoilers! The three character cast do a phenomenal job of keeping you guessing right up to the end. Gemma Arterton stars as "Alice", the kidnap victim and while she plays most of the film tied to a bed with a gag in her mouth, she still manages to convey a wide range throughout the story. The only other characters are the kidnappers, Vic and Danny, played respectively by Eddie Marsan, (Happy Go Lucky) and Martin Compston (The Damn United & Red Road).

There is some clever camera work particularly in the opening sequence and a great scene involving a bullet casing (which makes an interesting reappearance later on). Writer/Director J Blakeson takes a familiar plot and makes it fresh with the help of his talented cast. I rarely ever recommend anything as a “must see,” but this time around, I will. I think aside from Inception & The Book of Eli, this is a top notch film one must check out.
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Grade: A
Genre: Art/Foreign and Drama
Roars: 5 out of 5

Rated: R
Run Time: 1 Hr. 40 Min.

Cast: Gemma Arterton, Eddie Marsan, Martin Compston
Director: J Blakeson