The Disappearance of Alice Creed (2009 95min.) [BBC2 1.00am sunday]

Thriller starring Gemma Arterton, Martin Compston and Eddie Marsan. Two men kidnap a young woman and demand £2 million from her wealthy father, but their meticulously planned scheme soon goes violently wrong.

"Thriller" is a bit of a misnomer : the film is essentially a three-handed character study with the upper hand constantly rotating among the protagonists.

The always reliable Eddie Marsan leads the cast through an intense, claustrophobic film which has (to all intents & purposes) only one set and three characters ; director J Blakeson makes great use of these limitations and the film looks stylish and moody.

There's a few early scenes which might put you off but, while it may start out looking like just another kidnap-of-a-female movie it soon turns into something quite different.

Interesting and worthwhile.