The Disappearance of Alice Creed – 2009 | 96 mins | Thriller | Colour

Plot Synopsis

J Blakeson’s debut feature is a psychological kidnap thriller inspired by a single scene from Howard’s Ransom. The taut, emotionally intense low-budget film only features three characters but they generate terrific tension from the sexual and psychological ties, power games and shifting loyalties. Initially there may be suspicions that the provocative story is veering into sexploitation but the superb cast drive the plot forward. The performances are uniformly excellent despite none of the characters being particularly sympathetic.

Two men, twenty-something Danny (Martin Compston) and nearly forty- year-old Vic (Eddie Marsan), meticulously prepare a high-rise flat by sound-proofing the walls, boarding the windows and reinforcing the door in readiness for a young woman they intend to kidnap. They drag her from the street into the back of the transit van and, with a bag over her head and ball gag in her mouth, take her back to the flat, tying her to the bed in the room they have converted into a prison cell.

The kidnappers are ex-cons planning to make £2mransom for the young woman. The younger, nervier of the two, Danny defers to the more experienced Vic, who acts with a steely conviction. Their disorientated hostage is Alice Creed (Gemma Arterton), the alienated only-child of a rich businessman. Vic believes Alice was randomly chosen but she is actually Danny’s unwitting girlfriend. Terrified and immobile at first, it soon becomes clear that Alice is made of sterner stuff. As the deadline for the handover draws nearer, all three are brought close to breaking point by greed, deception and double-cross.