''Captive'' is a 2015 American

crime In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a State (polity), state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definiti ...

drama Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on Radio drama, radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a g ...

thriller film directed by

Jerry Jameson Jerry Jameson (born November 26, 1934) is an American television program, television and film director, film editing, editor and film producer, producer. Biography Highly prolific, he began his career in 1964 as an editor on the episode "List ...

and written by Brian Bird and Reinhard Denke, based on the non-fiction book ''Unlikely Angel'' by Ashley Smith. A true story about Brian Nichols, who escapes from the Fulton County courthouse in Atlanta on March 11, 2005 and holds Ashley Smith as a hostage, the film stars

David Oyelowo David Oyetokunbo Oyelowo ( ; ; born 1 April 1976) is a British actor, director and producer. His accolades include a Critics' Choice Award and two NAACP Image Awards as well as nominations for three Golden Globe Awards, two Primetime Emmy Awar ...

as Nichols and

Kate Mara Kate Rooney Mara ( ; born February 27, 1983) is an American actress. She is known for her work in television, playing reporter Zoe Barnes in the Netflix political drama '' House of Cards'' (2013–2014; 2016), computer analyst Shari Rothenber ...

as Smith. Filming began in October 2013 in

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

. The film was released worldwide on September 18, 2015 by

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation, commonly known as Paramount Pictures or simply Paramount, is an American film production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the flagship namesake subsidiary of Paramount ...

Plot

On March 11, 2005, Brian Nichols escapes from the Fulton County courthouse in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

, during his trial involving a rape case. In the process of the escape he murders the judge presiding over his trial, Rowland Barnes, as well as court reporter Julie Brandau. He also shoots Sergeant Hoyt Teasley while escaping from the courthouse, and later kills

ICE Ice is water that is frozen into a solid state, typically forming at or below temperatures of 0 ° C, 32 ° F, or 273.15 K. It occurs naturally on Earth, on other planets, in Oort cloud objects, and as interstellar ice. As a naturally oc ...

Special Agent In the United States, a special agent is an official title used to refer to certain investigators or detectives of federal, military, tribal, or state agencies who primarily serve in criminal investigatory positions. Additionally, some special ...

David G. Wilhelm, who was off-duty at his home. Nichols becomes the subject of a citywide manhunt. His frantic escape brings him to the apartment of Ashley Smith, a single mother and recovering methamphetamine addict, whom he holds hostage. Smith gets through the time by being inspired by

Rick Warren Richard Duane Warren (born January 28, 1954) is an American evangelical Christian pastor and author. He is the founder of Saddleback Church, an evangelical Baptists, Baptist megachurch in Lake Forest, California. Since 2022, he serves as execut ...

's best-selling book ''

The Purpose Driven Life ''The Purpose Driven Life'' is a Bible study book written by Christian pastor Rick Warren and published by Zondervan in 2002. The book offers readers a 40-day personal spiritual journey and presents what Warren says are God's five purposes for h ...

'' while Nichols searches for redemption. As she reads aloud, Smith and her would-be killer come to a crossroads. Nichols eventually turns himself in to the police.

Cast

Production

Development

On October 15, 2013,

and

joined the thriller ''Captive'' based on the true story of Brian Nichols, who escaped from the courthouse in

on March 11, 2005; he murdered the judge, a court reporter, a sheriff's deputy, and an off-duty federal agent. Later, he takes Ashley Smith hostage at her own house. BN Films set

to direct the film, which was adapted by Brian Bird and Reinhard Denke, based on Smith's non-fiction ''Unlikely Angel''. Alex Garcia, Lucas Akoskin, Terry Botwick, Oyelowo, and Ken Wales would be producing the film through Brightside Entertainment, 1019 Entertainment, and Yoruba Saxon Productions. Oyelowo was set to play Nichols, Mara to play Smith, with Leonor Varela and

Mimi Rogers Miriam Rogers (née Spickler; born January 27, 1956) is an American actress. Her notable film roles are '' Gung Ho'' (1986), '' Someone to Watch Over Me'' (1987), '' Desperate Hours'' (1990), and '' Full Body Massage'' (1995). She garnered the g ...

also in the cast.

Michael K. Williams Michael Kenneth Williams (November 22, 1966 – September 6, 2021) was an American actor. He rose to fame for his acclaimed portrayals of Omar Little on the HBO drama series ''The Wire'' (2002–2008) and List of Boardwalk Empire characters, Alb ...

joined the film's cast on October 24, 2013 to play Detective John Chestnut. Jessica Oyelowo, Oyelowo's real-life wife, her involvement was confirmed on March 16, 2015, along with Jameson and Katrina Wolfe as producers.

Filming

Principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as the ...

on the film began in October 2013 in

Release

On March 16, 2015,

acquired the worldwide distribution rights to the film and set the film for a September 18, 2015 release date. On June 16, 2015, the first trailer for the film was released.

Reception

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

, the film holds a rating of 28%, based on 50 reviews, with an average rating of 4.50/10. The site's consensus reads, "''Captive'' undermines committed performances from Kate Mara and David Oyelowo -- and the real-life story they're dramatizing -- with a thin script doubling as an ad for a self-help book." On

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

the film has a weighted average score of 36 out of 100, based on 19 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable" reviews. James Rocchi of

TheWrap ''TheWrap'' is an American online news organization that covers the business of entertainment and media. It was founded by journalist Sharon Waxman in 2009 and is based in Los Angeles. The site features original reporting, analysis, and editor ...

called it "A Lifetime movie shoved into a cage and fattened with sermons and platitudes until it is ready to be served up cold and bland." But Linda Cook of the Quad City Times called it "a top-notch, captivating film." Michael Foust of ''

The Christian Post ''The Christian Post'' is an American non-denominational, conservative, evangelical Christian online newspaper. Based in Washington, D.C., it was founded in March 2004. News topics include the Church, ministries, missions, education, Christi ...

'' labeled it "one of the most inspiring movies I've ever seen" and added it was "not the typical Christian movie." Foust wrote, "I suspect the movie ... succeeds because we can see a bit of ourselves in Smith or even Oyelowo, two broken people whose lives intersect on a tragic day in which the power of God's Word triumphed."

Inaccuracies

In the film, Nichols is depicted shooting Judge Barnes from the front when in real life, Nichols snuck into the courtroom from the back and shot Barnes from behind. He is also shown killing Deputy Teasley inside the courthouse, when Nichols actually killed Teasley after he ran outside. Also, Nichols shot Teasley five times, while in the movie, he shoots him only twice. Nichols took four hostages before the killings but in the film, he doesn't take any hostages aside from Smith.

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Captive (2015 Film) 2015 films 2010s English-language films 2015 crime drama films 2015 crime thriller films 2010s prison films American crime drama films American crime thriller films Biographical films about criminals Crime thriller films based on actual events Crime drama films based on actual events English-language crime drama films Films about kidnapping Films about domestic violence Films about rape in the United States Films about drugs Films about Baptist Christianity Films based on non-fiction books Films directed by Jerry Jameson Films scored by Lorne Balfe Films set in Atlanta Films set in 2005 Films shot in North Carolina Films about hostage taking American prison drama films 2010s American films English-language crime thriller films