Review: The Captive

Atom Egoyan is capable of drawing immense suspense out of characters and plausible situations without making any of it feel cheap. The Sweet Hereafter, his best film, is part melancholy drama and part thrilling mystery. His new film, The Captive, tries to find the same balance but too often the ludicrous screenplay undermines his intentions.

Matthew Lane (Ryan Reynolds), a landscape contractor whose business is in trouble, is driving his 9-year-old daughter Cass (Peyton Kennedy) home from ice-skating practice. They stop at a highway diner and in the few minutes he's inside, Cass disappears. Working late at her job as a hotel cleaner when the incident happened Tina (Mireille Enos), Matt's wife,instantly blames him and shutting him and everything out.

However, before any of this has been divulged Egoyan has already exposed us to the kidnapper. The kidnapper, Mika (Kevin Durand), is an assemblage of many serial killer troupes, including his love of classical music. It's eight years later and the teenage Cass (Alexia Fast) has been kept in confinement by Mika. He has her narrate childhood memories to accompany closed-circuit streaming of Tina as she finds objects associated with her missing daughter that have been planted in the rooms she cleans. Meanwhile, we learn of the disappearance of Det. Nicole Dunlop (Rosario Dawson) after a charity ball where she was being honored as the public face of the police force's anti-pedophilia crackdown.

How all of this works together is hardly a matter. In fact, the less one pays attention to the plot the better, The Captive works in fits and spurts. Occasionally it balance emotional devastation with genuine thrills but often the film feels like it wants to be a pulpier affair. The story veers to often into silly territory but the fine cast turn in good performances. Egoyan has an eye for beauty and sorrow here but lacks a deft touch with the thriller elements.