Disappearance of Alice Creed

If a movie's British, written and directed by a newcomer, it's what? No prizes for guessing it will be a technically adroit crime thriller with one set, basic location work, if any, and a small cast. This time, first-name-less "J" Blakeson (one of the writers for The Descent: Part 2) contrived a clever tale of a rich man's daughter outlasting her two abductors, in The Disappearance of Alice Creed.

The pace is well-maintained, from the dialogue-free opening set-up scenes of the kidnappers' van and home base to the wry ending. The plot is a gripping sequence of twists, in which the audience learns the bearded ex-convict kidnappers are a gay pair, the younger one is a practising bisexual who knew and side-plots with the woman, the older man realises the betrayal, and the woman pulls more tricks before grabbing the ransom and truly disappearing.

Blakeson gained sufficient funding (from the Isle of Man) to recruit a trio of British actors with above-average track records. Gemma Arterton, chained and spreadeagled on a bed much of the time, plays Alice Creed as a spirited young woman who screams and swears while suffering the indignities of nudity, smudged make-up and bodily evacuations. The actress got her breakthrough in the 2008 Bond (as divinely named Strawberry Fields), which led to appearances in Clash of the Titans and Prince of Persia.

Her younger captor is Scottish (Martin Compston, an untrained natural who debuted as the star of Ken Loach's Sweet Sixteen). He's the seemingly diffident accomplice of the domineering older man, Eddie Marsan, a character actor who's long worked steadily in the UK and Hollywood, hitting the big time as Inspector Lestrade in Guy Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes franchise. He's also worked for Mike Leigh (twice, gathering a handful of Best Supporting Actor awards for Happy-Go-Lucky), Scorsese (Gangs of New York), Mann (Miami Vice) and Berg (Hancock). His forte is looking menacing, and this movie is made to measure for him.

All debut features are so-called calling cards, and Blakeson produced one that should announce his name well. Another name that should be seen more is Mark Eckersley. After more than a decade as an assistant on UK features (including Billy Elliott), this movie is his debut calling card too, as editor.