The Captive

Directed and cowritten by Atom Egoyan, The Captive follows several characters as they attempt to solve the mystery of a little girl’s abduction – with the child’s parents (Ryan Reynolds’ Matthew and Mireille Enos’ Tina) quickly coming under suspicion by a pair of detectives (Rosario Dawson’s Nicole and Scott Speedman’s Jeffrey). Egoyan’s penchant for time-shifting narratives is certainly (and immediately) in evidence within The Captive, as the movie boasts (or suffers from) an opening half hour that jumps backwards and forwards to a degree that is, to put it mildly, somewhat confusing – with the fractured atmosphere preventing the viewer from initially connecting with either the material or the characters. It’s a hands-off vibe that’s compounded by a screenplay that juggles a plethora of mysteries for much of the first hour, as Egoyan and cowriter David Fraser pose a variety of questions that remain unanswered until virtually the end of the picture (eg why is Tina being filmed? what’s with the abducted kid’s various monologues? etc, etc). The film, then, benefits substantially from a raft of better-than-average performances – Reynolds and Enos are especially good (and heartbreaking) here – and a storyline that admittedly grows more and more coherent as time progresses, with The Captive ultimately progressing into a third act that’s far more tense and engrossing than one might’ve anticipated. The end result is an effort that falls right in line with Egoyan’s passable yet disappointing run of recent films, which is a shame, certainly, given that the movie admittedly does possess a notable number of positive attributes.

**1/2 out of ****