X
- 2014
- R
- A24
- 1 h 52 m
- 2014
- R
- A24
- 1 h 52 m
Summary Matthew (Ryan Reynolds) steps briefly into a diner and comes out to find that his young daughter Cassandra has vanished without a trace from the back of his truck. Her unsolved abduction destroys Matthew's once-happy relationship with his wife, Tina (Mireille Enos), who, haunted by mementos of Cassandra that appear mysteriously at her wo...
Directed By: Atom Egoyan
Written By: David Fraser, Atom Egoyan
- 2014
- R
- A24
- 1 h 52 m
- 2014
- R
- A24
- 1 h 52 m
The Captive
36
5.1
Where to Watch
Summary Matthew (Ryan Reynolds) steps briefly into a diner and comes out to find that his young daughter Cassandra has vanished without a trace from the back of his truck. Her unsolved abduction destroys Matthew's once-happy relationship with his wife, Tina (Mireille Enos), who, haunted by mementos of Cassandra that appear mysteriously at her wo...
Directed By: Atom Egoyan
Written By: David Fraser, Atom Egoyan
Where to Watch
Top Cast
Metascore
Generally Unfavorable
Based on 19 Critic Reviews
36
11% Positive
2 Reviews
2 Reviews
53% Mixed
10 Reviews
10 Reviews
37% Negative
7 Reviews
7 Reviews
Metascore
Generally Unfavorable
Based on 19 Critic Reviews
36
11% Positive
2 Reviews
2 Reviews
53% Mixed
10 Reviews
10 Reviews
37% Negative
7 Reviews
7 Reviews
This is Egoyan’s best film for a very long time: like Reynolds, he needed a hit, and The Captive is a welcome return to the form of The Sweet Hereafter. Its eeriness creeps up on you and taps you on the shoulder, and when you spin around, it’s still behind you.
Only in Canada would an artist this fascinating, home-grown and maniacally uneven continue to draw the subsidies, attention and loyalty from his fellow Canadians now big Hollywood stars to get his increasingly unhinged thrillers made.
User Score
Mixed or Average
Based on 43 User Ratings
5.1
33% Positive
14 Ratings
14 Ratings
44% Mixed
19 Ratings
19 Ratings
23% Negative
10 Ratings
10 Ratings
User Score
Mixed or Average
Based on 43 User Ratings
5.1
33% Positive
14 Ratings
14 Ratings
44% Mixed
19 Ratings
19 Ratings
23% Negative
10 Ratings
10 Ratings
[SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.]
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Solid throughout. Ryan Reynolds is typically excellent. The acting is good, the story structure is sound. The subject matter is difficult and verges on heartbreaking. Recommended for fans of Reynolds, Egoyan or basic suspense thrillers. Don't be put off by the critics who have one thing in common - they have never made a movie.
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The film has the plot of an intensely lurid thriller, but Atom Egoyan can't bring himself to face that and actively tend to the story; instead, he trades in barely coherent, high-brow euphemisms.
The Captive is chock full of sealed rooms, kidnappings and abducted prisoners, but what it can never escape is its director's own shadow.
The Captive seems tailor-made to explore the psychological damage that a child can suffer over a lengthy confinement, but instead leans too heavily on the chilly desolation of Paul Sarossy’s cinematography. What’s going on in the victim’s mind, or anyone else’s, is as invisible as what lies beneath the snow.
It is a ridiculous story, and these aren't human beings acting in a way that any of us would recognize.
As a straight procedural, this might have worked if Egoyan did not try the audience's patience and insult their intelligence with how utterly implausible his drama is. But line by line, scene by scene, it is offensively preposterous and crass.
What an interesting look at child porn. The parents **** who is taken are grilled by the police as if they have sold her to the pornographers, even after 8 years. Are real police that stupid? They always check bank records for large deposits of funds, etc. Other than that complaint, a good tale of how porn rings operate and how hard it is to break then.
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The message is to we be alert all time, no matter how friendly the society is.
This is like an extended version of 'Prisoners'. Sets in a small snowy Canadian town where a ten year old girl was mysteriously disappeared and so the film focused on the life of her parents who are eager to see her even after 8 years past. The cops and parents, hopelessly look for any clue of her being alive. Happy or sad ending, that's what the film's conclusion decides. Maybe the director was inspired to make this by his previous film, which was similar and based on the real, but that ends differently.
Films like this scares if you are a family man. But I think if we keep watching them at the time of it comes out, it is to alert us about our family security lapse. No matter whatever the country is, how safety it is, as they say, still thing like this happens in an eye blink time. The film is really something big, I wanted to like it, but they did not make the film right.
Not a bad film, only badly made, that's all. The characters, the concept had potential and the development ruined it everything. Nearly 75 per cent of the film was a drag. Everything we wanted to know is in first 15 and the last 30 minutes. In between, they have wasted in the name of development, hence the film failed to impress as what it promised, not from the message perspective and that's the point.
Not all the actors were good, particularly Ryan Reynolds was the best. The remaining ones were okay, though Rosario Dawson was the next best thing in the film. I did not like the presentation, it was so random to move from and forth between in the 8 years time span, it totally messed the film. Not only confuses the viewers, it gained nothing from it. Because usually this kind of narration method used to bring twist and turns and audience to keep guessing till the final, but in this case, it did not work at all. Other than that the film was better than it was criticised, I still suggest it for the adults because of the film theme.
6/10
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Exhaustingly disjointed narrative and clunky plot hamper the captivating premise. The Captive is a strange take on drama or thriller. It doesn't build up to intelligent conclusion or revelation as the movie gives some key point of the plot early, instead it's a merry-go-round of twisted perspectives and timelines. The movie certainly gives deeper look of the people affected by the heinous act, yet its shifting tone is exceedingly slow and the repetitive narrative feels needlessly cumbersome.
Story mainly follows Matthew (Ryan Reynolds) as he tragically lost his daughter. The movie spans over eight years and multiple perspectives. While this method can be alluring, it becomes overly tedious after a while. It is literally a circle of events that may seem disconnected, only to eventually be pieced together like a jigsaw puzzle though the movie gives the audience a random piece at a time.
Details from one scene might be crucial at later times, it's meant to be a Eureka moment when it finally comes together. However, the little suspense doesn't amount much and there is barely any major twist to be had. The way it jumps through characters and timeline might deter some viewer, especially when the movie just starts to build momentum then it jumps to another perspective at much different time altogether. Furthermore, the movie does this gimmick the entire time, occasionally with rehearsed scenes.
The theme itself is dauntingly personal. It's a delicate matter and the movie does deliver the premise without being overbearing. Acting from the lead, mostly Ryan Reynolds, Rosario Dawson as the police investigator and Alexia Fast as the daughter are pretty compelling. At times it showcases the psychology aspect in sophisticated manner, but as the movie reveals the child spent eight years in captivity in first act, it does negate some of the thrill from earlier timeline.
The Captive presents a sense of grueling entrapment, parts of it are not in the tediously cinematic way it's meant to be.
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Truly tedious. This could have been a good movie but it is simply boring. Dreadful acting and a horrible screenplay. Once again a bad film is written by its director - when will they learn? Are all the decent writers working in television? If the director also writes the story, who is there to say, "No, that stinks"?
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Production Company
Ego Film Arts,
The Film Farm
Release Date Dec 12, 2014
Duration 1 h 52 m
Rating R
Tagline When hope is all you have.
Website
http://shiroi-chinmoku.com/
Awards
Canadian Screen Awards, CA
• 4 Nominations
Directors Guild of Canada
• 2 Nominations
Northern Ontario Music and Film Awards
• 2 Nominations
