Review of The Disappearance of Alice Creed (2009) by Abraham S — 11 Nov 2013

What a random gem in the dusty sea of suspense thrillers travelling under the radar. I want to start by saying that I am hopelessly in love with Gemma Arterton and, having said that, my review may be somewhat biased based upon this fact.

I found a lot of the terrible situations the character of Alice Creed found herself in to be more stimulating that disturbing. That ball gag in her mouth for most of the first hour of the film? And how she seemed to suck on it when her captors removed it - popping out of her mouth with sinuous lines of saliva? Didn't help.

Totally inappropriate emotions - at least for me. The Disappearance of Alice Creed was a very surprising, well done, wonderfully written piece of cinema with a blessing of a cast. Martin Compston, Eddie Marsan, and Gemma Arterton held this 1hour and 40minute ride up above their shoulders - and they were the only actors in the entire film.

I was moved by the level of emotional and psychological complexity that each character boasted and to see them bounce off of each other was an incredibly fun ride. I would see this again in a heartbeat.

And I feel I have seen it in pieces years before but never in its entirety until two days ago. I would share this with sentient friends and family, but the entire thing might be lost on anyone else.