Review of The Disappearance of Alice Creed (2009) by Cathey T — 23 Nov 2010

Gripping from beginning to end, 'The Disappearance of Alice Creed' is a surprising gem that never lets up with the tension and is consistently moving its plot forward. From the preview I expected a somewhat trashy 'Last House on the Left' tone, but was happy to find this was nothing like that, but instead is a smart thriller that contains only three characters the entire time and could not have benefited better from it.

It is good to see a film where story and style converge so well. With so much focus being shifted from either style to form in many big releases lately, it is so pleasing to see the actual story take a front row seat.

It was as if every scene grew out of the one before it. It is so nicely plotted out and it leads up to some magnificent moments. And the acting is to be comended, this film would have been nowhere near as affecting as it was without the fine performances of all three leads.

Especially the least unkown of the three, Martin Compston, who plays the critical role of the individual that links the two other characters together. The twists are well written and we don't necessarily see them coming.

We expect something to happen, but we aren't sure where they will go with it and the turn outs are nothing less than satisfying. It is certainly worth a watch and deserves all of your attention when you do.

You will not be disappointed.