Touches You

Crappy film

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

The movie is limited by the small number of characters and set locations. It's a bit contrived and perhaps a bit exploitative. It certainly has its twists and surprises, which are the fun of it. Heck, even the title of the film is a spoiler.

The Disappearance of Alice Creed was for me a very absorbing 93 minutes. I would like for people to experience it with little to no prior research, so I will be careful to keep this review spoiler free. The film by virtue of its character development and narrative depth rates more respect than quibbling gawkers evidently give it. The 6.8/10 is too low for my liking and suggests to me that people are failing to sensibly answer their own questions about the film. Stupidities are all apart of life's rich pageant, and good films cast light on the reality of life. I would agree that the depiction of intelligence in film is more interesting than that of unintelligence, but it is too cynical and ungenerous to outright dismiss a character's stupidity as a cheap and convenient plot device. How conceivable is it given what we know or can reasonably theorize about the character and their circumstances? More importantly, how would the alternatives change the narrative for better or worse? Some stories that are well worth telling necessitate one or more frustrating plot devices. This film has much to offer in spite of them.

(67%) A largely watertight, stripped-down kidnap based crime thriller that marks a reasonably high point in lower budgeted British cinema. I've seen multi- million dollar movies that aren't as engrossing or even as well made as this, and while many movies of this type run out of steam after about thirty or so minutes this on the other hand has more than a few twists lined up along the way meaning there's plenty to get your teeth into. And with only three characters featuring in the entire picture this does a fine job of keeping things fresh, with the always good Eddie Marsan lifting the film even higher. It may be a touch underwritten in parts, but this is overall well worth tracking down.

Extremely tense, beautifully shot, generally well (if not quite brilliantly) acted, this is a clever and effective exercise on making an exciting film on a tiny budget. Even though about 75% of this kidnapping tale takes place in a two room apartment, director/writer Blakeson finds enough effective and compelling ways to photograph his tiny set, and enough sharp plot twists and reveals that any claustrophobia becomes a plus not a problem. There are a few times when credulity is stretched, and a few plot turns that have that sense of being a 'clever twist' instead of something organic to the characters or the story (you can feel them as they're where the acting is less strong, you can see the actors strain to make them 'work'), but neither shortcoming is enough to keep this from being a highly entertaining, and even ultimately oddly touching nail-biter.