Captivity

When a new Roland Joffé movie was up for release, I wanted in because this was the guy who made great cult champions like The Killing Fields and The Mission. I knew that there would be no danger in watching this as I know the kind of movies he makes and so was secure. Little did I know that it was all a trap! A trap well laid to get me into the theatre and into the seat. I didn’t know why they did it, but they sure had me fooled. I was held captive in the cinema hall and was tortured with this “movie”. Ironically, it is also titled Captivity.

Rating: 1/5

Elisha Cuthbert in Captivity

Seriously, I do not know how such an acclaimed director could deign to have any part in this sleazy sex-thriller. It is about this supermodel- Jennifer (Elisha Cuthbert) who is totally high maintenance. So anyway, one day she is at this exclusive club sipping an apple martini looking at her nails when she feels a little dizzy and bam! The next thing she knows, she is in this eww dungeon and all bound up. You see, she was kidnapped by this crazy psycho who wanted to torture her and eventually kill her. He has a lot of treats lined up for the beauty queen like eating eyeballs and pancreas, buried in sand…you get the drift. To add to the thrills, before every new torture, she has a costume change- a change which is ten times sluttier than the last. Obviously, Jennifer is distraught, but what can the girl do?

Michael Harney and Laz Alonso in Captivity

Then she realizes that she is not alone. You see, her fairy god mother was still alive, so Jennifer has a handsome hunk, Gary (Daniel Gillies) who is sailing in the same boat as her. Inevitably, the two feel a strong physical as well as emotional attraction and team up to defeat Mr. Psycho.

It is completely beyond me how such a dowdy script saw the light of day. It is predictable; you could proclaim yourself a fortune teller. Plus, the fact that the makers want a sex angle in addition to the sick things is another thing unfathomable. It’s like, “oh! We have a good looking girl, let try and show some skin huh? Huh?” plus, the physical attraction between the unfortunate souls is mid boggling, especially as they want to do it right there in that creepy dungeon.

Elisha Cuthbert in Captivity

When we come to talk about the acting, well, there is not too much to talk about. You see, all the people involved seemed like amateurs in a third rate film. I guess my description is not far off mark. Besides weeping, Elisa does little else. She has the damsel in distress thing going on. Gillies has practically nothing to do- you can say he is the eye candy in this movie.

When the hoardings for the promotions were put up, several protest groups campaigned long and hard to get the very suggestive and provocative pictures off the streets. It is a pity that a director of such caliber has to sink so low to make such a sad movie.

Rating: 1/5

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This entry was posted on Thursday, July 19th, 2007 at 8:29 pm and is filed under Reviews, Drama, Crime, Thriller . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.