Movie Review: The Dissappearance of Alice Creed

GUESSING GAME: Gemma Arterton stars as a not-so-straightforward kidnap victim. Photo / Supplied

Rating: 4/5
Verdict: Surprise package

The feature debut for writer-director J Blakeson is a fiendishly well-plotted and slickly executed version of the kidnap thriller, with at least two terrific plot twists up its sleeve.

It also virtually redefines intensity. Probably 85 of its 96 minutes take place in two rooms and there's not so much as a glimpse or sound of anyone else. We don't even lay eyes on the title character until her abduction is complete.

Instead, in a compact and gripping opening sequence in which not a word is spoken, we watch Vic (Marsan) and Danny (Compston) equip a van and a flat for the mission, and lie in wait for their prey.

Even when they start talking, the conversation between them has a disjointed Pinteresque quality, which adds to the nightmarish sense of tension.

As the thriller unfolds, its plot becomes more inventive. Vic's worries that Danny might be having second thoughts barely hint at what's to come. In a key scene, the word "trust" is repeated several times.

It's the beating heart of the film's driving idea: no one is to be trusted.

Blakeson's script drops surprises like depth charges, keeping us constantly on our toes and the cast is great.

Marsan, a Mike Leigh regular (he was the obsessive driving instructor in Happy-Go-Lucky), is a brilliantly inscrutable mix of the psychopathic and the vulnerable and Arterton (The Prince of Persia) shows real grit.

If the finale lacks the zing that the rest of the movie encourages us to expect, it's no matter. This is one of the most impressive British indie debuts in yonks.

Cast: Eddie Marsan, Gemma Arterton, Martin Compston
Director: J Blakeson
Running time: 96 mins
Rating: R16 (violence, sexual references, offensive language)

-TimeOut