Review: The Disappearance of Alice Creed
For the first ten minutes or so of The Disappearance of Alice Creed sets an unsettling tone as two industrious men silently and meticulously complete increasingly unnerving DIY work on a van and an apartment.
Fraught with sinister possibilities, the twisty plot reveals itself in fits and starts in The Disappearance of Alice Creed. Two men (Eddie Marsan and Martin Compston) kidnap a young woman (Gemma Arterton) for ransom, and as in most thrillers, things are not as they initially appear. Very little is revealed before Alice's abduction, and very little exposition is used, allowing the story to reveal itself almost at the pace Alice learns about her captors and their intentions.
The nearly overwhelming ambition of writer/director J. Blakeson's script could easily have taken a darker, exploitive path with titillating abuse of the victim, but only toys with those conventions. Instead, the focus is on the relationships of the three characters and how they evolve over the course of the 100 minutes of the film. Unfortunately, Blakeson's direction lacks the subtlety necessary to build and deliver on the initial riveting attention. Over and over the audience ended up laughing at sudden reveals that belied the artistry of the opening sequence.
It wasn't the casting. Eddie Marsan (Me and Orson Welles, Hancock) as one of the kidnappers was an excellent choice -- his versatility could have made this a breakout role for a man who's firmly established his a reputation as a memorable supporting actor, from menacing to sad sack, and can play everything in between. Martin Compston (The Damned United, Red Road) is building a reputation of his own with small British productions. Gemma Arterton is fast becoming well known from being a Bond girl (Quantum of Solace) to being a favored casting choice for epic fantasy (Clash of the Titans, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time). Each actor gets a chance to chew the scenery, but they never seem to get the opportunity to consistently make the scenes work.
Blakeson clearly is a fan of a film by a well-known, edgy British filmmaker; so much so that mentioning it in this review will spoil The Disappearance of Alice Creed for savvy readers. Suffice it to say while an homage, The Disappearance of Alice Creed could learn a lesson in subtlety.
The Disappearance of Alice Creed isn't your average low-budget thriller, but does raise the proverbial bar too high to reach, frustratingly so for an audience with their expectations set to high. But it also makes Blakeson a filmmaker to watch.