Canadian Director Atom Egoyan has in great part missed the boat with this 2014 offering of THE CAPTIVE that sunk very badly and quickly for good reason.
I don't think there has ever been an Atom Egoyan film including last last year's DEVIL's KNOT which has not spooked or thrilled me to the max. EXOTICA, for example, was a very gritty look at the seamy side of life and to those who cater to whims of 'perverts'. But the film was brilliant. With THE CAPTIVE we most certainly have a story worth telling, especially in this digital age, but it simply does not work as a well as it should... my first ever EGOYAN disappointment. The subject matter is strong, scary material so the handling had to be treated with kid gloves. I'm afraid the handling of this abhorrent theme made the film look all the more gross. HUGE ERROR IN DIRECTORIAL JUDGMENT! And what of the child? I wasn't at all convinced of the entire ordeal as the child seemed neither here nor there... Time, they say, is of the essence so let's speak of the film's timeline briefly. The Captive does it in rather a heavy-handed way. There are many movies that use time shifts to much better effect. EGOYAN himself has done it masterfully in a few features. I could follow it, but it seemed to be a severe problem for a number of viewers, including my two friends. Unfortunately, the cast did a magnificent job in a losing battle. Ryan Reynolds and Rosario Dawson have always proved themselves worthy. SCOTT SPEEDMAN, who to my mind, has always been a very under-rated actor is in top form as usual. I simply don't understand why he has not become a MAJOR STAR while others with much less talent have hit the jackpot! Because of the cast, Speedman, especially, I would have liked to rate this film higher, but that would be no better than a lie!
There is a problem with your e-mail address and we are unable to communicate with you. Please go to My Account to update your email.
Please choose a username to sign your comments. Only letters, digits, dash - or period. Minimum 4 characters.
Your age and sex:
We publish all comments, except abusive, at our discretion.