Samantha Haxton This is my first IMDb review, even though I am an avid movie watcher and use IMDb quite frequently to make rental selections. I don't feel the low or mediocre rating assigned by many reviewers is fair. This movie is not really an action film, and it is a true story about a woman who is a drug addict and grows closer to God due to her frightful experience being held captive. Her captor does display compassion and has moments where he is likable, even though he is a murderer. Some may criticize this, but most criminals are not 100% bad people. This is a story of two people, a drug addict and a murderer, who may be leading horrible lives but they do have redeeming qualities. I believe it is a great movie, and I don't think you need to be a Christian to enjoy it.

Prismark10 I guess I would not had even put this on if I knew it was one of these faith based films.Captive stars Kate Mara as Ashley Smith, a single mother who has lost custody of her daughter, is late for work and life in turmoil because she is addicted to crystal meth. At rehab she has been given a book by the American evangelical preacher Rick Warren's The Purpose Driven Life.David Oyelowo's plays Brian Nichols, a man accused of rape who breaks free of custody at court by shooting a Judge and three court officials. He goes on the run and hides out at Smith's apartment for 26 hours while the police search for him. At the apartment he takes drugs and Smith reads passages from Warren's book which has the effect of him to turn himself in.That believe it or not is the plot. For a moment I thought, he is pleading his innocence for the rape, somehow he will find the correct culprit like The Fugitive, apart from the issue he killed all those people in the courthouse.This is a cack handed and tedious two hander as Smith and Nichols talk about finding a spiritual connection. It certainly is no thriller and at the end when the real Smith appears in a clip of the Oprah Winfrey show the real message of the film becomes clear but was there really a need for such propaganda?

terencecarson I saw this film without knowing anything about Brian Nichols and his story and I enjoyed it. I then saw the low ratings and mixed reviews and i wondered why. I'd classify it as drama/thriller: the tension is present throughout the movie but the main feature is the development of the two leading characters. David Oyelowo's acting is solid but it's above all Kate Mara's performance that strikes the viewer with her portrait of a troubled woman trying to make sense of her life. The interaction between the two, ranging from violent to almost tender, is another leitmotif. I guess knowing the ending takes away a lot of the suspense making it predictable hence my summary line. All cast is up to the task and delivers nuanced work.

kailomonkey On reading the synopsis I wasn't sure how they were going to pull off a movie about a captive converting a convict. Based on a true story it seems they pulled it off by mostly skimming it and delivering a fairly straight criminal/hostage movie.To me it is sad that this is a true story because once it was done it went to Oprah and the facts, and I didn't see the black male convict being interviewed and celebrated. In fact the purpose driven life he gained was to in fact not see his son until he becomes 18 and chooses to do so. If it were a fiction I would have liked to see the captive fighting to make sure that man saw his son, or at least shown that the mother of his son then made contact and facilitated communication and a relationship between father and son.Without this information the story is a sad one, which would be fine, but it is framed as good for everyone despite the obvious. He even gives her her phone, a clear sign of relenting himself to the authorities, yet he doesn't give himself up. Was this confused storytelling or did he intend to give up but got scared again? We don't know because it's not even hinted at.I love the idea of this movie but what it delivers is trash mixed with troubling truths.