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Finally for today, then, we move into the 21st century, and boy, do I have a gem for you, here. Let’s take a look at Atom Egoyan’s 2014 Canadian movie “The Captive”. A couple living in Niagara Falls, Ontario sees their life plunged into darkness when their little girl mysteriously disappears.
Well Egoyan is perhaps best known for his 1995 drama “The Sweet Hereafter”, starring the late, great Ian Holm. I found that film slow going, so if you’re not yet familiar with Egoyan’s filmography, I highly recommend you begin with this later film, The Captive. It’s an intriguing genre-hybrid, centering on very depraved criminal behavior and disturbing pathology.
There’s brilliant outdoor location photography, here, in a perpetual, almost preternatural snowscape. Witness scenes that include the stunning backdrop of the Niagara waterfall itself. It often sits there almost as an afterthought here, in compositional terms. This is a unique film, visually.
And you get a strange feeling, upon watching The Captive for the first time. The narrative and chronological structure are highly unusual; you’ll get knocked around a fair bit. But fear not, for you’re safe in the hands of a master film-maker, here. This is an incredibly confident and ambitious piece of storytelling. The moment of disappearance itself is handled so cooly, and with such aplomb, you could almost miss it, if you’re not paying attention. The matter-of-fact staging makes this tragedy all the more compelling.
I really love watching films that don’t spoon-feed you, right from the get-go. “The Captive” is cleverly indirect with its visual exposition. It makes us do enough legwork, as viewers, that when the pieces slowly start falling into place? Well, that’s an immensely satisfying – and surprisingly emotional – film-viewing experience.
Several strong names appear in the cast, including Ryan Reynolds! Yes, it’s National Lampoon’s Van Wilder from 2002, who went on to comedy and superhero fame in many modern films such as “The Proposal” and the subservisely twisted “Deadpool”. But here, he gives a serious and intense performance that rather anchors the story.
Mireille Enos does great work with a very challenging role as the haunted matriarch of the movie. Rosario Dawson and Scott Speedman are along for the ride giving important support as police investigators. And Kevin Durand (who you might recognise as the archangel Gabriel in the flawed 2010 apocalyptic fantasy “Legion”) gives a delightfully creepy performance as our antagonist, here. Bruce Greenwood, a staple of 90s Hollywood genre cinema (and still going strong today) is suitably ambiguous with his winning, wink-eyed grin.
this is really a film about broken lives, taking place, as it does, at key moments during an 8-year time-span. A brilliant soundtrack and the aforementioned disjoints in chronology are skillfully combined. The effect is a deeply moving and sad tale of the effects of loss on the lives of good people. The setup of this story, in the first act, actually feels operatic, when you take it for what it really is. It’s quite literally choreographed, in places.
A broken mother, a father who just can’t stay away from a place which holds fond memories with his daughter. The first 15 minutes of the film almost feel like a montage, set to a continuous soundtrack. And all this, with more than a hint of ambiguity about character motives. Yep, there’s a lot going on, here.
All sounds a bit odd, right? Well yes. Yes, I’d wager that it is. But don’t let that put you off. For here’s a movie which defies genre conventions all over the screen. There are off-kilter performances, unusual events unfolding. Couple this with a deeply voyeuristic and sadistic bent to the visual perspective, the film continually keeps us off balance. It’s understated film-making, in a lot of ways, yet it builds very powerfully indeed.
Pleasingly, the third act gives us a surprisingly exciting action finale, which, far from breaking the mood or seeming out of place, really nails the philosophical gravitas of the story.
There are themes of grief, how people deal with long-term guilt & culpability, and the relentless determination of a father-figure who just won’t give up. “The Captive” is, I feel, an excellent example of genre film-making at its towering best. The story is far from superficial, quite the opposite, yet it’s told in an engrossing and unusual format that I think few of you will have seen before. So. Check your closets for hidden cameras, and take a look at “The Captive”:
Movie Rating: 4 / 5
This ‘The Captive’ Movie Review was part of an episode of our movie podcast. Show Notes for this episode:
In this episode of More Than A Movie, we start by interviewing our guest, director Vanessa Vella.
We next review ‘Munich‘, Steven Spielberg’s powerful espionage thriller, that was partially-shot here in Malta. [jump to 14:47 above].
We then review our three main Crime Dramas That Let You Decide, for this week’s episode:
The Firm (1993) – [jump to 17:47 above]
Heat (1995) – [jump to 21:36 above]
The Captive (2014) – [jump to 25:30 above]
More Than A Movie is written and presented by Andrew Bonello. It was originally recorded and aired on Campus FM Radio, at the University of Malta.
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