Plots(1)
On a suburban street, two masked men seize a young woman. They bind and gag her and take her to an abandoned, soundproofed apartment. She is Alice Creed (Gemma Arterton), daughter of a millionaire. Her kidnappers, the coldly efficient Vic (Eddie Marsan) and his younger accomplice Danny (Martin Compston), have worked out a meticulous plan. But Alice is not going to play the perfect victim – she’s not giving in without a fight. In a tense power-play of greed, duplicity and survival we discover that sometimes disappearances can be deceptive… (official distributor synopsis)
(more)Reviews (5)
I often say that if I were to commit a crime, it would only be the kind that wouldn’t need any accomplices, and this film is another reason why. After a long time, the Brits have managed to make an interesting chamber drama that only needs three actors, one room, a forest, a cabin, and several minor props. At the beginning, the script works very smartly with the viewer’s expectations, but calms down a little after two surprising twists (fortunately, I don’t think it could have survived another somersault), and the ending manages to balance things to (almost) everyone’s satisfaction. I have a weak spot for this kind of thrillers and the above-par rating is a given.
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A bucket of puke and three excellent actors. Seeing as this is Blakeson’s debut, hats off to him: the directing is flawless, but the screenplay suffers from the overly large number of unexpected situations. P.S.: The opening ten minutes of "preparations" is perfect.
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Quite a lot of value for a few bucks. An attractive victim, two interesting bad guys, a great atmosphere, a traditional cold British style. The creative newcomers took on a stylish everybody betrays everybody story and it turned out solid. It's a pity the first part is so well laid out, because it starts to get a bit thin towards the end. But the potential for the future is huge.
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A great opening, then a decent atmosphere, which is gradually diluted in the over-complication and stupid actions of the characters, and then a decent ending. Gemma Arterton's performance didn't impress me at all. Looking at her I constantly felt I was just watching a pretty British actress playing a kidnapped girl, and I was much more impressed with Eddie Marsan. Three and a bit.
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A proper drama can be made with three actors, especially when you take two men who want money, and one girl whom they kidnap in order to get that money. This is a film that, although slow-paced, is very good as a thriller. Furthermore, Gemma Arterton will show a lot here. Besides her physique, she also displays great acting abilities. And more actors were really not needed.
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