STAR RATING: ***** Saturday Night **** Friday Night *** Friday Morning ** Sunday Night * Monday Morning
Recently released from prison, convicts Vic (Eddie Marsan) and Danny (Martin Compston) meticulously plot and execute the kidnap of the titular Alice Creed (Gemma Anderton) a young woman with a rich father. Having filmed the ransom demand, everything seems to be running smoothly, until Alice turns the tables on them, after which various twists and turns and sneaky revelations come to light that set the plan down a very different and more deadly path than anyone planned.
Opening entirely in silence, with the main characters going about doing and getting what they'll need for their crime, TDOAC certainly opens with a decent sense of atmosphere and impending terror. And it all runs fairly smoothly, until Alice (ridiculously!) turns the tables on her captors, after which the film descends into such a big sea of it's own preposterousness and incredibilty that it loses any sense of tension and impact that it started with. The performances can't be faulted, Marsan delivering another firm, solid turn as the domineering lead villain, and Anderton showing her talents as an actress, portraying an initially scared, vulnerable prey who grows to let out a righteous sense of anger and feistiness to survive. It's just a shame their efforts are wasted in such misfiring, off shot fare as this. **
Recently released from prison, convicts Vic (Eddie Marsan) and Danny (Martin Compston) meticulously plot and execute the kidnap of the titular Alice Creed (Gemma Anderton) a young woman with a rich father. Having filmed the ransom demand, everything seems to be running smoothly, until Alice turns the tables on them, after which various twists and turns and sneaky revelations come to light that set the plan down a very different and more deadly path than anyone planned.
Opening entirely in silence, with the main characters going about doing and getting what they'll need for their crime, TDOAC certainly opens with a decent sense of atmosphere and impending terror. And it all runs fairly smoothly, until Alice (ridiculously!) turns the tables on her captors, after which the film descends into such a big sea of it's own preposterousness and incredibilty that it loses any sense of tension and impact that it started with. The performances can't be faulted, Marsan delivering another firm, solid turn as the domineering lead villain, and Anderton showing her talents as an actress, portraying an initially scared, vulnerable prey who grows to let out a righteous sense of anger and feistiness to survive. It's just a shame their efforts are wasted in such misfiring, off shot fare as this. **