Nowadays, it is not so easy to surprise the viewer with a truly original film that can keep you in suspense. Even quite eminent directors have already managed to "slide" to a fairly low level and self-replay. They cannot offer the audience something new due to the lack of fresh ideas. The thriller genre is particularly sad.
In the 90s, thrillers were very popular, as there were many young directors who were not afraid to experiment. They created original stories, not numerous remakes. The canons of the genre were created, such as "Silence of the Lambs", "Seven", "Game" and many, many other significant works of the genre. But with the advent of the 21st century, the situation again became extremely deplorable. A huge number of mediocre youth thrillers came out, most of which were sequels not recognized even by the most avid fans of the original. Among the truly successful works of recent years, it is worth highlighting The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Departed, Oldboy, and Mulholland Drive. Everything else, as a rule, looked secondarily and did not find fame among the audience.
And only very recently a new talented director appeared who was not afraid to go for experiments. It turned out to be Denis Villeneuve - a native of Canada, who moved to Hollywood just four years ago. During this time, he managed to establish himself as a master of the new thriller. The most notable work of the author was the film "Captives", reviews of which for the most part are even enthusiastic. It will be discussed in our article.
"Captives": the plot of the film
In the middle of the story, a middle-aged man named Keller Dover. He led the most ordinary and unremarkable life exactly until he faced a real nightmare: his six-year-old daughter was abducted. Together with her, her friend also disappeared. Father was horrified, and immediately turned to the police. But time passes, and no data on the missing girls has been found. The only evidence is a dilapidated van, which stood in the yard exactly at the moment when the girls were playing on the street.
The investigation is undertaken by an experienced detective Locky, who has repeatedly dealt with cases of this kind. As a result, in a fairly short time he manages to find the owner of the van and take him into custody. It was only as a result of the investigation, he came to the conclusion that evidence for his arrest is not enough. A few days later, the suspect was omitted. Father was beside himself with rage and decided to take matters into his own hands. But how far can he go?
The film "Captives" receives positive reviews for the beautiful and intriguing plot. Despite the fact that at first glance it may seem primitive and uninteresting, in reality everything turns out differently. This story, created by Aaron Guzikovsky, is full of interesting plot finds, as well as unexpected twists. Despite the general slowness of the narrative, the film is watched with interest from the beginning to the very end. What is the final twist that will amaze everyone who decides to get acquainted with the picture. And how did the film "Captives" (2013) end? We will not talk about this, since the whole intrigue will disappear. But you will definitely be shocked.
Denis Villeneuve
This person is a representative of that rare type of people who from art-house European cinema managed to move to Hollywood overnight. Well, more precisely, this did not happen right away, but three years after the masterpiece of the dramatic detective "Fires", which was awarded many awards, and was also nominated for an Academy Award as the best motion picture shot in a foreign language.
So it is not surprising that American producers immediately turned their attention to Villeneuve. As a result, after three years, he was able to shoot his first big-budget film "Prisoners". The director at his disposal got a galaxy of stars in the person of Hugh Jackman, Jake Gyllenhaal, Viola Davis and many, many others. Not every young director has such a great chance to prove himself. In the end, we got one of the best detective thrillers of recent years. It is shot in a fairly leisurely, even meditative style. So it is unlikely to be suitable for fans of continuous action. It immediately feels like a person used to shoot an author's movie, designed for thoughtful viewing. Fans of films of such a plan, "Captives" will definitely like it.
Other work of the director
Also, one cannot fail to mention that in parallel with the above movie Villeneuve also managed to make another film, called "Enemy". What is most interesting, in it again the leading role was played by Jake Gyllenhaal. And, I must say, there he fully managed to reveal his full acting potential. The film is very different from "Captives", even despite a similar genre.
Then came another thriller - “Killer”, which found considerable success at the box office. But after that, unfortunately, Denis Villeneuve decided to change his orientation in the cinema, moving into the category of directors working in the genre of science fiction.
Most recently, his successful film Arrival was released, which was nominated for an Oscar. He also recently started filming the sequel to the notorious sci-fi cyberpunk "Blade Runner". But that's not all: according to rumors, very soon Denis will be approved as the director of the new film adaptation of "Dunes". So his business after the "Captives" definitely went uphill.
"Captives" (film, 2013): actors
The hallmark of the film, thanks to which the "Captives" were able to gain popularity, of course, is the cast. As we mentioned earlier, it exclusively includes Hollywood stars. Some of them have already managed to declare themselves and receive major awards, others only showed promise. Next, we will talk in detail about those who have won a role in the film "Prisoners". The film (2013) made the actors, the director and the whole crew, thanks to their talent and efforts, a masterpiece.
Hugh Jackman
It’s worth starting with the lead actor, Hugh Jackman. This person needs no introduction. For more than fifteen years, Hugh has been one of the main stars of American cinema. He proved that he is able to work in films of various genres. Despite the fact that many associate Jackman primarily with the role of Wolverine in the notorious franchise, he also managed to play many dramatic roles, including such hits as Prestige, Les Miserables, Kate and Leo, as well as many others works for which he received many awards.
So there is nothing surprising in the fact that in the film "Captives" Hugh Jackman was able to outshine with his skill every colleague on the set. He played incomparably the role of a heartbroken father, who is filled with rage. He is ready to do absolutely everything in order to find his beloved daughter. The role turned out to be emotional and believable at the same time. In such cases, many actors replay. But Hugh Jackman, as befits a professional, was able to maintain the necessary bar.
Jake Gyllenhaal
Another Hollywood star that is familiar to our viewers. Jake can be seen in films such as Donnie Darko, Brokeback Mountain, Source Code, or the recent sports drama Lefty. Like Hugh, Jake is a diverse actor who tries not to get stuck in any particular genre.
In "Captives" he got the role of a detective conducting an investigation. He played exactly as the situation demanded of him. Yes, there is nothing outstanding in this role. And definitely she will not be included in the category of the best in the career of an actor. But at the same time, it is unlikely that someone would have played this role better than Jake Gyllenhaal. "Captives" is a true achievement in his filmography.
Paul Dano
A young Hollywood actor, which until recently, almost no one knew. And only at the end of the last decade he began to receive more or less noticeable roles in the films of large directors. He has collaborated with Paul Thomas Anderson, Steve McQueen, as well as Paolo Sorentino. In "Captives" he got a relatively small role. But for the allotted screen time, Paul was able to fully demonstrate his talent.
Viola davis
This is one of the most sought after black actresses of the last ten years. More recently, she finally got her well-deserved Oscar-winning statuette. But she showed her best roles long before that. In the film "Captives" Viola Davis looked quite appropriate and did an excellent job with the acting task.
Worldwide box office
The film had a solid budget by the standards of the genre in the amount of forty-six million dollars. Despite this, the film was at the box office quite successfully. In the USA, the film collected a relatively small amount - sixty-one million. However, world fees have made it possible to fully recoup all the costs of producing a movie.
Awards
As expected, the film received a number of fairly prestigious awards, as well as nominations. Here is a list of the most notable ones:
"Saturn":
- The best makeup (victory).
- Best supporting actress.
- The best thriller.
"Oscar":
- The best work of the operator.
Interesting facts about the film
As often happens, the main roles were initially many other applicants. And they are all no less stars than Hugh Jackman and Jake Gyllenhaal. In particular, the candidates of Mark Wahlberg and Christian Bale were considered. Agree, a rather unusual tandem could have turned out. Initially, Leonardo DiCaprio was completely considered for the main role. For a while, it was even stated officially. But, apparently, in some ways he did not agree with the director.
Speaking of directors. Initially, other, much more eminent candidates were also considered than the little-known then Denis Villeneuve. The first film was to be shot by Brian Singer, well-known for the films "X-Men" and "Superman Returns." But in this case, this is clearly not his genre. So it’s good that in the end the choice fell on another person. Also, for some period of time, it was believed that the film would be shot by Antoine Fukua - a famous master of Hollywood blockbusters ("Shooter", "Training Day", "Left-Handed"). It was during that period when he was approved for the role of directors that Hugh Jackman was invited to the main role. What is most interesting, in the end they both dropped out of the project. And only a year later, Hugh still accepted the offer.
Reviews for the movie "Captives"
This film was well received by both critics and ordinary viewers. In particular, on the popular resource "Rotten Tomatos" the movie has 81% positive reviews. It is also worth noting that on most popular film resources, the average rating of a film is 8/10. Reviews on IMBd and Kinopoisk are also extremely enthusiastic.
The film "Prisoners" (2013), according to reviews, was shot in a manner quite unusual for a thriller. It has everything that the audience loves this genre so much, but at the same time it is not a template for its representative. The director managed to create an intrigue that keeps in suspense until the very end. The film "Captives" reviews are called a masterpiece that will definitely go down in history.
According to the views of the audience, this is a great example of how to create a stressful movie with a high-quality, incredibly thought out plot. Every detail is given maximum attention. So the director, ultimately, managed to avoid inconsistencies. The film "Captives" reviews are called really worthwhile. It is recommended for viewing to all fans of the genre.