The Captive (2014 film)

Plot

At a police station in Niagara Falls, Ontario, new detective Jeffrey Cornwall is sitting down for a job interview with Nicole Dunlop who works in the Internet Child Exploitation Unit. He recoils in disgust after seeing the images related to open cases and Nicole tells him that these are the images he will have to see every day. Meanwhile, Niagara Falls resident Matthew Lane picks his nine-year-old daughter Cassandra up from the arena after her figure skating practice. He comments that her wearing one white skate and one black skate is an unnecessary gimmick given her skill. On the way back, Matthew stops to pick up pie, leaving Cassandra in the car. Minutes later he returns to find her missing and calls out to no success. He reports the abduction to the police station where Dunlop and Cornwall are assigned to the case. Cassandra's mother Tina Lane arrives and breaks down in a fit of fury directed at Matthew.

Eight years later, Matthew and Tina are estranged while Nicole and Jeffrey are romantically involved. Tina still provides details to the police but Matthew, initially a target of suspicion himself, has become a vigilante in the search for Cassandra. Cassandra is in the home of a child pornographer named Mika who has installed remote cameras in the rooms where Tina works as a chambermaid. Although he leaves the house to work, the fear that he will harm her parents prevents Cassandra from escaping. Cassandra thanks him for keeping her alive even though she has grown too old to be attractive to a pedophile. A break in the case comes when Cornwall finds recent photos of Cassandra online. More begin to appear as Mika has her tell stories on camera, hoping that they will help lure in younger vulnerable children. Posing as one such child, Cornwall and Dunlop succeed in tricking a child molester named Willy to reveal himself. The arrests of Willy and others in his group catapult Nicole Dunlop into the public eye. Mika visits Willy in prison and urges him not to take any more deals for cooperation. Willy says he will only comply if someone kidnaps Dunlop and forces her to reveal whatever details of her past may have inspired her to pursue child protection. Mika dismisses the request as unfeasible.

Mika decides to watch an encounter between Cassandra and her father. When Matthew is transporting trees in his truck, Mika goes to the motel where he is sleeping and sets up the trees so that they lead to a clearing in the road. Matthew follows the trail in the morning to find Cassandra waiting there. Shocked to see each other, they begin a rushed discussion. Cassandra resists the opportunity to get in the truck and Matthew cannot figure out why until Mika appears and tranquilizes him. Cassandra also begins talking to a young girl via online chat. When Nicole arrives home, she is horrified to see that Jeffrey is so desperate to find Cassandra that he is using his own niece as a way into the community. Mika turns the webcam back on to watch their fight and reconsiders Willy's offer.

At a dinner where Detective Dunlop is being honoured, Mika and a disguised woman arrive and pour a sedative into her drink. As Nicole is collapsing, the woman offers her a ride home. After getting in the car, she removes a wig revealing herself to be an accomplice of Mika's named Vicky. Mika locks Nicole in a van and tells her to speak into a microphone. Vicky travels to the arena of Cassandra's former figure skating partner to ask questions about their mismatched skates. Matthew overhears them and becomes suspicious. He follows Vicky to a diner where Mika is waiting for her. He calls Detective Cornwall with the location and says that his phone's GPS will be placed on the suspect's car. Once inside, Matthew acts disruptive, prompting the diner staff to call the police as well. He confronts the abductors to buy more time, stealing one of their cell phones causing them to chase him after he leaves. In the ensuing chase Vicky shoots at Matthew's truck.

After the chase concludes, Cornwall is able to get a fix on Mika's house through the GPS tracking on Matthew's phone. A team arrives to rescue Cassandra, resulting in Vicky and Mika's deaths, leaving Nicole's whereabouts unknown. The Lane family is finally reunited. Later, a search team arrives at where the van that Nicole is trapped in is located. The movie ends with Cassandra ice skating, smiling.

Cast

Production

The shooting of the film began in February 2013 in Sudbury, Ontario. Ahead of its première on 16 May 2014 at the Cannes Film Festival, distributor A24, in partnership with DirecTV, purchased the U.S. rights to the film.

Marketing

The first official US trailer for the film was released on July 10, 2014. A second trailer was released on November 18, 2014.

Reception

Before its release, the film had been received negatively. Justin Chang from Variety described the film as "a ludicrous abduction thriller that finds a once-great filmmaker slipping into previously un-entered realms of self-parody". Peter Bradshaw from The Guardian commented "it looks worryingly as if Egoyan has taken a serious issue and burdened it to breaking point and beyond with his own indulgent, naïve and exploitative fantasies". Steven Zeitchik of the Los Angeles Times compliments moments when the film "hints at emotions and mysteries with a delightful subtlety for a while", but remarks that it includes "some wild plots and conspiracies that wouldn't be out of place in the most fantastical spy novel".

The film has a Rotten Tomatoes rating of 31% based on 49 reviews, with its consensus stating: "Wan and lugubrious, The Captive represents another atmospheric, beautifully filmed misfire from director Atom Egoyan." The film also has a Metacritic score of 36 out of 100 based on 19 reviews.

Release

The film received a limited release in Canada on September 5, 2014 making a total of $450,000. The film was released on DirecTV on November 13, 2014 due to A24's partnership with DirecTV. The film was released in select theaters and on demand beginning on December 12, 2014 in the United States.