The Crime Triangle

  

After missing the screening of J. Blakeson's The Disappearance of Alice Creed (2009) at Montreal's 2010 Fantasia Film Festival, I finally snagged it on Blu-ray yesterday. Once home and armed with popcorn, I pushed 'Play', eager to be dazzled by the purchase of my latest hidden gem.

It can be a gamble buying a movie you have yet to see - you could be stuck with a dud that will collect dust on your shelf (or on your overflow pile of movies that are awaiting a shelf of their own). But, thanks to expectations cultivated by genre formulas, my love of crime fiction, and a recent appreciation of actress Gemma Arterton, I was certain the film was going to be a winner.

And I was captivated.

On the score card for "Me vs. Movie Bin Duds", chalk up a definite point for me.

This British suspense thriller features the familiar minimalist crime triangle that I really enjoy: three key players brought together, vowing to work with one another on a sinister plot, but each vying for the cash prize at the end. Of course, this is all spiced up when a romantic linkage is introduced into the mix. All of these features play out amidst the unravelling of an initially unshakeable scheme that slowly and inevitably goes awry. Danny Boyle's Shallow Grave (1994) also floated into mind as I watched my latest find, as it too illustrates a similar troubling crime triangle, and the common cash trope that money is the solution.

Near the end of the film, it struck me: I was reminded of the adage that three is generally understood to be a crowd, that the third player invariably complicates the situation and screws things up for everyone. But a 'third wheel' in the crime triangle is actually a catalyst.

Rather than compromising the 'right romantic couple' storyline where love wins out, a third player exposes the instability of the romantic dynamic duo's relationship, indicating that it was never going to last anyway. In the crime suspense thriller, forget the frequent exchanges of amorous whisperings; ignore the professions of love and trust; resist the seduction of how saucy the sex scenes may be; these players are in it for the game. When money is involved, it's everyone for themselves.

My advice for those in the crime triangle dilemma: take the money and run.

That's what Alice Creed did.

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