Most movies are easily digested: You start them, don’t think much and after about an hour and a half you are hopefully entertained. Of course there is nothing wrong with that, but once in a while you need a challenge. The Captive is a film which manages to provide that at its start.
During its opening the viewer is served many parts of a story. All these fragments don’t seem to make much sense initially. The only thing you can do at that moment is remember everything as good as you can. As the movie progresses these pieces of the puzzle slowly start to connect. The story is all about the disappearance of Cassandra (Alexia Fast). Her parents Matthew (Ryan Reynolds) and Tina (Mireille Enos) are desperate and the investigation by the police, done by Nicole (Rosario Dawson) and her team, who are specialised in finding lost children suspects Matthew might be involved. As a viewer you receive more information than the main character, but despite that the film succeeds in keeping you on the edge of your seat.
The story keeps jumping through time, showing you more parts of the story and allowing you to get to know more about the characters. The movie is very well edited and the atmosphere constantly tense. Still the movie has a couple of moments which don’t seem to fit or are not executed as well as they could have, resulting in a film which doesn’t reach the same level as other movies in the genre like Prisoners or Gone Baby Gone. The Captive still is a thrilling crime movie which keeps you invested through its puzzle like structure.
I hadn’t heard of this one! I’ll have to check it out. Nice review, Nostra!
Not everyone is positive about it, but I really was into it.