Captive (2015)

Overrated

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

Worth seeing just to witness how winsome it is.

I guess I would not had even put this on if I knew it was one of these faith based films.Captive stars Kate Mara as Ashley Smith, a single mother who has lost custody of her daughter, is late for work and life in turmoil because she is addicted to crystal meth. At rehab she has been given a book by the American evangelical preacher Rick Warren's The Purpose Driven Life.David Oyelowo's plays Brian Nichols, a man accused of rape who breaks free of custody at court by shooting a Judge and three court officials. He goes on the run and hides out at Smith's apartment for 26 hours while the police search for him. At the apartment he takes drugs and Smith reads passages from Warren's book which has the effect of him to turn himself in.That believe it or not is the plot. For a moment I thought, he is pleading his innocence for the rape, somehow he will find the correct culprit like The Fugitive, apart from the issue he killed all those people in the courthouse.This is a cack handed and tedious two hander as Smith and Nichols talk about finding a spiritual connection. It certainly is no thriller and at the end when the real Smith appears in a clip of the Oprah Winfrey show the real message of the film becomes clear but was there really a need for such propaganda?

This film tells the story of a single mother who is addicted to meth. One night, she is held hostage inside her own home by a killer who just killed several people. They form a relationship which changes both of them forever."Captive" tells the psychological struggles of both the mother and the killer. They battle their own demons, and they are both changed over the course of the night because of a self help book. As unlikely as it sounds, it is actually based on a true incident. As a film, it does not offer much thrill or adrenaline, because it tells how two people evolve over the backdrop of a adrenaline rushed events. It is an OK film to watch, when you know what you're expecting.

On reading the synopsis I wasn't sure how they were going to pull off a movie about a captive converting a convict. Based on a true story it seems they pulled it off by mostly skimming it and delivering a fairly straight criminal/hostage movie.To me it is sad that this is a true story because once it was done it went to Oprah and the facts, and I didn't see the black male convict being interviewed and celebrated. In fact the purpose driven life he gained was to in fact not see his son until he becomes 18 and chooses to do so. If it were a fiction I would have liked to see the captive fighting to make sure that man saw his son, or at least shown that the mother of his son then made contact and facilitated communication and a relationship between father and son.Without this information the story is a sad one, which would be fine, but it is framed as good for everyone despite the obvious. He even gives her her phone, a clear sign of relenting himself to the authorities, yet he doesn't give himself up. Was this confused storytelling or did he intend to give up but got scared again? We don't know because it's not even hinted at.I love the idea of this movie but what it delivers is trash mixed with troubling truths.

Great acting and a true story cannot compensate for a second-rate cinematic adaptation like director Jerry Jameson's "Captive," even with first-rate thesping from David Oyelowo, Kate Mara, Michael Kenneth Williams, and Mimi Rogers. Basically, this hostage drama is based on a true-life incident that occurred in Atlanta, Georgia, back in 2005. Rape suspect Brian Nichols broke out of his cell in the Fulton County Courthouse and shot a judge, a court reporter, a sheriff's deputy, and later a Federal agent in a bid for freedom. After stealing three cars, he wound up at the Duluth, Georgia, apartment for Ashley Smith. Not long afterward, Atlanta Police surrounded the house and convinced the killer to surrender. Ashley Smith documented her experience entitled "Captive: The Untold Story of an Atlanta Hostage Hero." What could have been a genuinely exciting thriller amounts to a dreary potboiler with Christian author Rick Warren's devotional book "The Purpose Driven Life" serving as product placement. According to the hostage that Nichols holed up with, she read Warren's text to him and the message of "Captive" is that the killer saw the light and gave up to the authorities. Many well-intentioned Christian movies aimed at regular churchgoers boast low-budgets and borderline talent. Unlike those standard issue faith films, "Captive" contains first-rate acting with "Selma" star David Oyelowo cast as the killer with no qualms and "Fantastic Four" actress Kate Mara as Ashley Smith. Sadly, despite its workman-like screenplay by "Not Easily Broke" scenarist Brian Bird, "Captive" generates only a modicum of suspense. The charisma that Oyelowo and Mara bring to their respective roles has no counterpart with anything else here, except "Days of Grace" lenser Luis David Sansans' wobbly cinematography that lends an edgy quality to this lackluster outing. Nothing about this PG-13 rated, 97-minute melodrama is remotely captivating. Indeed, during the end credits, we catch a glimpse of the real-life Brian Nichols and are treated to a "Oprah" interview with Smith about her close encounter with death. Most of these Christian movies rake in millions, but "Captive" has struggled despite its laudable cast and earned back little more than its $2-million budget. For the record, Oyelowo served as one of the producers. Comparably, "Captive" and "No Good Deed" share some similarities, except "No Good Deeds" coined far greater cash. Presumably, "Captive" didn't have enough Christian values to bring in the flock. Spectators that appreciate strong acting may enjoy it simply because "Raise the Titanic" director Jerry Jameson doesn't rub our collective noses into scripture.