Review of The Disappearance of Alice Creed (2009) by Rob J — 29 Aug 2010

Gemma Arterton in convincing performance alert! Probably the first and last time I think I'll say that. A well composed abduction movie from first time writer/director with some great performances. Given that there were only 3 actors in the whole film, it lives and dies on the strength of those performances.

Some genuinely tense moments (SPOILERS): I really thought at some points this was going to turn into a cheap torture-porn/rape-revenge knock-off, but I'm glad it as more mature than that. Martin Compston also performed well as the duplicitous lover - back to the kind of form he displayed in Loach's Sweet Sixteen all those years ago. Eddie Marsan was also strong in his menacing role.

Sure, there were times when the film echoed Danny Boyle's Shallow Grave (3 protagonists, money, claustrophobic setting, backstabbing, etc) or felt like a short film being dragged out a little longer than it should have been but this was still much better than either of the other Arterton movies I've had the misfortune to watch recently (Prince of Persia, Clash of the Titans). But the opening 10 mins or so were quite masterful in the way in which they established the rather dark story that was to follow. Hardly any diegetic dialogue at all.