Top 4 Gemma Arterton Movies

by Helen Earnshaw | 19 August 2015

We are going to be seeing plenty of Gemma Arterton on the big screen over the next few months as she has a string of exciting film projects on the horizon. She makes her movie return this week with comedy/drama Gemma Bovery, in which she takes on the title role.

Gemma Arterton in Gemma Bovery

Gemma Bovery is the first film for Arterton since she starred in The Voices at the beginning of the year, as she teams up with filmmaker Anne Fontaine.

We are big fans of Arterton here at FemaleFirst and we take a look at some of her movies that you really do have to see.

- The Voices (2015)

I have already mentioned The Voices and it is Arterton's only big screen outing of the year - seems like a great place to start. The movie, which marked the return of Marjane Satrapi to the director's chair and saw Arterton star alongside Ryan Reynolds and Anna Kendrick.

The Voices is one of the most unique movies to have hit the big screen this year and is unlike anything that Arterton has ever tackled before.

This is a movie that strikes the perfect balance between horror, gore, darkness, and quirkiness, with all of the cast throwing themselves into is brimming with the director's surreal sense of humour.

Arterton brings some of the comedy to the film as she takes on the role of Fiona - I guess this was her one and only chance to play a severed head.

The Voices boasts a great cast as Reynolds, Arterton, Kendrick and Jacki Weaver all shine in this off-beat black comedy. Arterton is an actress that has always mixed and matched her roles and it is great to see her not shy away from a project such as this.

Together, they have delivered a movie that is as dark as it is funny and has buckets full of charm to boot. If you haven't see The Voices so far this year, it is a movie that is well worth checking out.

- Byzantium (2013)

Arterton teamed up with Saoirse Ronan back in 2013 to mother and daughter vampires in the adaptation of Byzantium. The movie was based on the play by Moira Buffini - who also penned the screenplay for the film - while Neil Jordan was back in the director's chair.

Jordan has brought us movies such as Michael Collins and Breakfast on Pluto during his career but this was his first film since Ondine and the first time that he had teamed up with the British actress.

Byzantium is a movie that is a mix between modern and gothic as it moves from dark and moody to loud, brash and full of life as it follows two young women as they struggle with the pitfalls of eternal life.

For me, Byzantium was one of the best vampire movies to hit the big screen in recent years and it is a film that has surprises around every corner. It is one of the most refreshing films in this genre and is as stylish as it is gory.

Arterton takes on the role of the ballsy and the brash Clara, a woman who insists on pushing forward and never looks back. While Byzantium is a vampire film, it is also a love story about a mother who will go to extraordinary lengths to protect her child - which is a theme that you don't expect to find in this genre of film.

The on-screen relationship between Arterton and Ronan is what really drives this film forward. Two different women, one looking ahead and one haunted by the past, but with a bond of love so strong that it can never be broken.

As well as terrific performances from the central cast, Byzantium is also a very haunting and beautiful looking film that sets it apart from other movies in this genre that have hit the big screen in recent years.

- Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters (2013)

I don't know about you, but I was a huge fan of Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters - it really was one of my guilty pleasure movies of 2013. While it was a movie that didn't win over many of the critics, it was a film that I found to be action packed and a whole lot of fun.

Written and directed by Tommy Wirkola - who brought us Dead Snow - Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters followed the grown up siblings as they hunt and kill witches all over the world. The movie saw Jeremy Renner and Arterton take on the title roles as they teamed up for the first time.

I have to say, I thought Arterton was a kick ass chick in this film and really threw herself into the action elements of the movie. We are not use to seeing Arterton tackle such an action packed role and it great to see her have a great time with a role such as this

There is a terrific chemistry and banter between Renner and Arterton as the siblings, forever linked by the experiences they had as children, and you find yourself rooting for them from the moment that you meet them.

Of course, Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters is silly and over the top but that doesn't mean it isn't a lot of fun. It is one of those movies that you can just kick back and enjoy time and again and is not to be taken that seriously.

- The Disappearance of Alice Creed (2010)

It was back in 2010 when The Disappearance of Alice Creed hit the big screen and it remains one of Arterton's most critically acclaimed performances.

J Blakeson had written the script and was in the director's chair as The Disappearance of Alice Creed marked his feature film directorial debut. Arterton took on the title role of Alice, while Eddie Marsan and Martin Compston were also on the cast list.

A rich man's daughter is held captive in an abandoned apartment by two former convicts who abducted her and hold her ransom in exchange for her father's money. But, Alice is not going to play the perfect victim -- she's not giving in without a fight. In a tense power-play of greed, duplicity and survival we discover that sometimes disappearances can be deceptive.

If you are a fan of the crime/thriller genre then The Disappearance of Alice Creed could well be a movie for you as it is tense and terrifically suspenseful film from start to finish. It is an unnerving movie with danger around every corner - this may be a simple kidnapping story, but Blakeson has delivered it in a way that is incredibly powerful.

Arterton is just terrific as Alice who, at first plays the victim perfectly, before turning the tables on her kidnappers. She goes from scared and vulnerable victim to strong and resourceful women who will fight tooth and nail to survive. It is also a manipulative performance from Arterton as she plays her two kidnappers so they turn on each other. Marsan and Compston are also terrific as kidnappers Vic and Danny, who struggle to remain in control once the plan is under way.

The Disappearance of Alice Creed is a clever and engrossing film that was a terrific debut from Blakeson and sees Arterton give a great central performance.