User Reviews

It started well and from the earlier reviews I was expecting a taut thriller. Acting and story line were all very good and it wasn't the usual kidnapping caper. It still failed to be that rarity which is what I hoped it would be; a movie where people do all the right things in a difficult situation.

Spoilers follow...do not read if you plan to watch it.

There were too many situations where people almost did the most sensible thing but then didn't. It transpired that two of the characters knew each other but didn't recognize each other from their voices. Unlikely. Then there is a scene where a victim has the clear upper hand but succumbs to hand back the gun and be tied up again. It just wouldn't happen. She gets the upper hand again and instead of grabbing the jacket to remove the keys from the pocket at arms length, she moves to do it within reach of her captor and loses the advantage again. Victim calls police from a cell phone, the location of which, to within a block is traceable in seconds. No police arrived at all.

Double crossing and betrayal at the end were almost too much.

Worth watching but not quite believable.

This British thriller film is about Alice Creed who is kidnapped for ransom by two blokes( Vic and Danny), they take her to a flat with soundproof walls and tie her to a bed while they wait for the money from her father. The film is straight to the point.

The film gives off a very tense atmosphere in the first 45 minutes or so as we see Vic and Danny overlooking Alice. Some of the scenes are uncomfortable to watch but of course that adds to the tension. Gemma Arterton gives a fantastic performance.

I really liked the way this film was going but it took a turn for the worse just over half way through. There ended up being too many twists and turns and in the end it became too far fetched. It was very gripping when they kept it simple, just the 3 of them in the room. Silly decisions were made and all sorts of relationships were discussed and it just became unbelievable. It was too complex when it really didn't need to be.

Overall it is a good watch but I feel it had potential to be an excellent film had they kept it simple.

7/10.

'The Disappearance of Alice Creed' opens with scary and cold efficiency. Two men stridently go about a mission that isn't immediately clear. They line the back of their van with plastic, then go shopping for a drill, a mattress and other tools that, for a while give indications that they are building a house - or maybe a bathroom like the one in 'Saw'. They enter a small flat where they assemble a bed that they nail to the floor and then add padding to the walls. They also kidnap a young girl and drag her kicking and screaming to the flat and tie her securely to that bed.

The girl, Alice (Gemma Arterton), is told that she's being held for ransom. They want money from her father and she will remain there until they get it. Those scenes have a cold, hard, frightening pace. It all happens very quickly. It is clear that the two men, Danny (Martin Compston) and Vic (Eddie Marsan), have worked this plan out piece by piece. For a while, they remain within the perimeters of their plan, keeping their faces covered when in the presence of Alice and never giving their names. Vic, the leader, has such an eye for detail that he is even able to spot when his partner is thinking too much.

Those opening scenes are actually the best part of the movie and if it had remained at that pace, the movie might have really worked. But then the movie employs a silly cat and mouse game that never flow naturally from the story, but rather just feel written. Alice turns out to have a connection with one of the kidnappers, the kidnappers turn out to have a different connection with each other then we expected, and all three characters are so unwritten and unappealing that we just don't care.

The other problem is that there is no consistency within the characters. Early on, Vic is established as a man who has honed his skill for detail down to a science, but there are things that, give those skills, should be blindingly obvious. Danny turns out to have less of a cold heart than we are led to believe, and he has a motive for getting involved in the kidnapping that seems a little more complicated than it needs to be.

Gemma Arterton, one of my favorite young actors, gets the humiliating role of Alice whose early scenes, tied to a bed with a ball-gag in her mouth, are difficult to watch. That's bad enough, but director J. Blakeson wallows in leering shots of her naked body tied to that bed like a pervert enjoying his camera. It is uncomfortable. In fact, The whole movie is grimy like that. It moves back and forth between trying to find an amount of realism with buckets of red herrings. There are surprises that crop up from time to time but it is all a sticky, nasty little con game. When we arrive at the conclusion after one character has one-upped the other and vice versa over and over and over and over again, the screenplay has manipulated itself into oblivion.

** (of four)

This plays like a one-set, one-Act stage play that has been 'opened out' for the big screen. There are elements of just about every movie you can think of in the same genre and there's a certain amount of 'cheating' in the way that information it would be logical for the audience to know is withheld in the interests of plot twists. It's certainly well done and hooks from the opening sequence in which two of the principals first buy the material they will need for their plan to succeed and then utilise it in soundproofing and securing a room which will house a hostage. Where it perhaps falls down is in never allowing the world outside to intrude. A millionaire's daughter is kidnapped and two million demanded for her return yet at no time do we see the (presumably) worried father, the police (who, equally presumably) have made plans to monitor the exchange. Arguably the worst omission is the pick-up of the money which is never seen; instead the senior kidnapper returns to the junior and the 'victim' with the money and no signs of pursuit by the police. Though the acting is high standard from all three the flaws are just too glaring to overlook.

As usual I'm in the middle as far as ratings go. This film isn't the best thriller I've seen but it also isn't the worst either. I love the photography especially the opening segment and on the whole the acting is good as well. What lacked for me was the script and in particular the dialogue.

I'm always being told story twists work much better when after finding them out the audience can go: 'of course! That's why they did so and so! In this story that has not been bothered with much and so the twists while genuinely surprising only serve as cheap shocks. And to be honest there is plenty of room for these snippets of back story to be inserted. The dialogue between the two bad guys centres on one repeatedly reminding the other one to stay alert and threatening him if he doesn't. This time could have been better spent and much more fun alluding to their relationship.

I also thought the style made it look too desperate for suspense. Certain scenes were overblown. The toilet scene in particular was quite ridiculous where we get the full treatment: snarling bad guy, climatic music the lot – why? Because the other bad guy had flushed the toilet three times! Sorry didn't buy it.

But on the whole very professional and watchable. I'm of a certain age when you couldn't say that about most British thrillers. And for a first time director – an excellent effort.

About two months ago,I was reading my friends copy of Total Film.And,when I got to the letters I noticed an eye-catching reply,to a question that a reading sent in about Gemma Arterton.The reply said that "If you want to see A lot more of Arterton than you ever could imagine,than you should see Alice Creed".Having been intrigued by that,I went searching online to see if DVD was available to pre-order.Happily,I was pleased to find that the film was a very entertaining rough thriller.

The plot:

Two men who have just been realised from prison (who have also fallen for each other)decide to kidnapped a millionaires daughter and hold her for a huge ransom.Which,they can then use to live happily-ever-after.Due to having taken every effect possible to make the negotiation of the hostage (Alice)goes completely fine.But,what one of the kidnappers does not know is that Alice has a long history with the other kidnapper...

View on the film: Something that I found very surprising was when I discovered on the Making Of, that this is the first film that Writer/director J Blakeson has made.Due to the film being 80% set in one small flat and only having three characters in the whole film!.Blakeson,is cleverly able to doge any of the big pitfalls that the film could easily have fallen into.Instead he makes sure to make the movie feel very nerving.This is especially well done in the many scenes that take place in the bedroom where Alice is being held hostage,which have a very strong claustrophobic,tense feel.

Since I noticed her appearance in the latest Bond film,It has always seemed that the films that Gemma Arterton has been cast in,have usually been good,but always slightly disappointing.With Alice Creed,Gemma finally gets a role (and a film) that thankfully reverses that trend.Right from the first few opening minutes of the film,Arterton shows a stunning amount of venerability and deep terror in her performance.The other thing that really surprised me was the amount of extremely disturbing humiliation scenes that Arterton performs very realistically.

As the villains in the film,Marin Compston and Eddie Marson work very well as a "Team".Marson shows some,very unexpected sensitivity as the old time crook Victor.Comston contras this by by playing wheeler-dealer Danny as a very slippery character.Who,takes full advantage of other peoples weakness's.

Final view on the film: A very tense interestingly written thriller,with a very impressive performance by Gemma Arterton.

Most professional critics seem to be raving about The Disappearance of Alice Creed. In many ways that doesn't surprise me. The film is dark, twisted, gratuitous, with plenty of ups and downs and the impressiveness of the entire film beginning to end being a three person show. There is literally not another person in the entire film and the majority of the film takes place in a two room apartment. The problem is that the performances aren't that 'powerful' and the ups and downs and twists and turns are almost too bizarre and unexpected. The ending feels anti-climatic and the kidnapping angle is certainly not a new one. However, there is some truly intense moments in the film and some dramatic overtones that keep it interesting enough. The film seems to rely on gratuitous nudity that really has no purpose in the film other than the typical sexual draw doesn't befit a critical darling like they are trying to be. The only other negative to the film is the back and forth between the two kidnappers goes on far too long...does he know, does he not know, who is onto who and what is happening next.

Gemma Arterton, former Bond girl, and recently seen in Clash of The Titans really goes for a dark twist as Alice Creed. Feisty, independent and certainly not ready to be victimized her character is good. The problem is she gets no back story, we don't know enough about her and maybe that's the idea but she's too strong a character. Martin Compston, in my opinion, is the highlight of the film as far as performances go. As the young naive and scared Danny he shows a compassion and a real thrill to the story. He carries the film easily and ups the performances of everyone around him. If this film somehow manages to garner awards he is the one I wouldn't be disappointed to see up there. Eddie Marsan is the cold and calculated Vic. His character is completely twisted and plays a villain to story with nothing but villains ultimately. Marsan and Compston have good chemistry which is integral to the story but it isn't grade A chemistry. Still by the end of Vic's story he is a complete monster and its entertaining to watch the transition throughout the film.

J Blakeson is writer and director for the film and for the shortcomings to the film I think he should be given kudos for creating the story and the film. It is a dark twisted thriller that I think could have been more if it perhaps more depth to the entire film. I'm not sure of the budget for the film but I expect that it was likely extremely low. I think Blakeson made something on a shoestring budget on a shoestring idea so I suppose that really counts as something to critics. You will be entertained but I also think you'll see the short fall which is the length, lack of back story, and while the characters are interesting I felt like they could have been more interesting. Nonetheless its a solid thriller that I'm sure we will hear more about. 6.5/10

I must admit, I share Tom's fondness (bordering on obsession) of Gemma Arterton's boobs, legs and pretty much everything about her. She also happens to be be a damn good actress (something you can't say of many British actresses that are also really fit) and she really shows of her acting chops in The Disappearance of Alice Creed. This low budget British indie film is full of violence, nudity and cursing and it's also pretty damn good.

The film's set-up is pretty straightforward; it's a kidnapping thriller in which two ex-convicts called Danny (Martin Compston) and Vic (Eddie Marsan) kidnap a young woman called Alice Crred (Gemma Arterton). The film opens with the two nasties shopping for some pretty dangerous equipment, setting up a room and then kidnapping Alice by putting a bag over her head and a gag in her mouth. It's brutal and shocking stuff. The reason for all this is that the two dickheads want a ransom for Alice's return as she's the son of a wealthy businessman.

From then on there's plenty of beatings, Arterton is left completely (yes, COMPLETELY) naked on one occasion and tied to a bed. It's a lot cleverer than it seems though; there's a couple of excellent plot twists which are hard to see coming and the plot is super focused and tightly written.

Director J Blakeson keeps things simple; there's only 3 characters and 4 locations seen in the film. It's a confident first effort from the director who handles the camera exceptionally well and gets some truly gripping performances out of the 3 actors.

Compston and Marsan both more than hold their own opposite the young up and coming Hollywood star, but the girl from Kent (that's where I live!) is simply sensational in the role of Alice. Arterton is asked to be amazingly vulnerable, powerfully miserable, desperately crafty, and suddenly brave. She succeeds in all departments and despite some of the iffy Hollywood blockbusters she's been in (Clash of the Titans), this film proves she can act damn well.

The Disappearance of Alice Creed is a simple film with minimalist design choices and a tried and true formula. However, it's fantastically written and shot by Blakeson and the performances from the 3 leads are top notch. It can be brutal, shocking and a bit disturbing, but if you want a change of pace from the big and brash blockbusters then this is a film to go and see.

5/5

When I walked into the cinema and was greeted on screen by the bleak English weather, the B&Q saw and the actual "milanotan" coloured bed that I actually own, I almost groaned to myself... Oh no, not another English film that should have gone "straight to bin" never mind "straight to DVD"...

But then minutes in and we hadn't heard a word of dialogue and I liked it's quirky, fast-paced introduction... But this quirky fast paced intro soon turned into a long, drawn out, obviously low budget Brit flick with a few slightly predictable but nevertheless mildly interesting plot twists.

Don't expect to be blown away by the twists here... You'll find yourself accurately predicting the twists at times, and other times thinking of twists that actually would have made the film better...

See I don't like to watch trailers, I feel it gives away the whole film, so I had no idea what to expect.. Why it had an 18 certificate I'll never know. Open any Sun newspaper or google pretty much ANYTHING and you'll see a pair of women bits... Other than this, there was no need for the certificate. It's not scary. It's not particularly violent. And the nudism is nothing any 15 year old hasn't seen already.

This film COULD have been really good, but it wasn't. It was just OK... but on a boring bank holiday Monday, there was worst things I could have done with my evening. Just wish I'd have been training dragons instead.

The movie is limited by the small number of characters and set locations. It's a bit contrived and perhaps a bit exploitative. It certainly has its twists and surprises, which are the fun of it. Heck, even the title of the film is a spoiler.

The starting sequence is the best part of the movie. It follows the silent endeavor of two unsavory characters who cruise hardware shops to buy material for a soundproof hideout.

The plot crumbles when the characters start talking. There are only three of them, Vic, Danny, and the titular Alice. Vic and Danny being the kidnappers and Alice the young and busty victim, one can guess where this is going.

It actually goes there but by sideways and politically correct plot twists that are mostly ridiculous. Alice is unnaturally unafraid of her captors even before she discovers that one is her sort-of-boyfriend Danny, who concocted the plan to squeeze money from Alice's estranged father. And guess what? Danny and Vic are also lovers... seriously, so much love lost in this plot.

Eventually, Alice talks (so to speak) her way out and wins over her male captors, because all men are dumb compared to a woman. However, Alice fits more into the old stereotype of a woman who can f**k her way out of anything than in the alleged one of the strong, modern heroine.