The Disappearance of Alice Creed

In a nutshell: Dark, tense and a little bit nasty, definitely not one to watch with grandma.

Popcorn rating: 3.5/5

Less than five minutes into ‘The Disappearance of Alice Creed’ and Gemma Arterton, one of Britian’s rising starlets and regularly judged one of the most beautiful women in the world, is tied naked to a bed.

Cue rolling of eyes, but this isn’t just another gratuitous boob scene from a director hoping to get bums on seats.  Arterton, is seems , has taken on the role of the titular Ms Creed, and stripped down for artistic reasons. ‘I am a serious actress’, those beautiful, terrified, exhausted brown eyes emote into the camera. ‘I really am more than the embarrassing dross that was Clash of the Titans’. And, to be fair, she is damn good.

From the very off, The Disappearance of Alice Creed burns with a sinister undercurrent. This is everyone’s nightmare. This is your sister, daughter, wife kidnapped, stripped , gagged and chained to a bed. These kidnappers are seriously mean. They don’t talk that much. They are violent. And they definitely don’t ever smile. Ever. No, The Disappearance of Alice Creed will not leave you feeling warm all over.

But it does, successfully, work hard to keep you glued to the screen with a tight, twisting plot and excellent performances from its pared down cast –  especially the morally torn Martin Compston as the slight Danny.  It looks good too with the stark, minimalism that is almost becoming de rigueur for indie flicks.

Of course, it isn’t perfect . Does the world really need  another psychotic kidnapper coupled with an unsure but oh so pretty accomplice?  Would anyone look that good after being kept chained in a room? Probably not, but overall this tight, tense thriller is well worth watching.

Reviewer: curlyshirley