MovieChat Forums > The Captive (2014) Discussion > Atom Egoyan - A cautionary tale for ever...

Atom Egoyan - A cautionary tale for every 'auteur' out there

posted 10 years ago by naples-884-346409
12 replies | jump to latest

Egoyan ripped off his own biggest hits and remixed them while adding
some mainstream elements that don't fit his aesthetics.
He even changed the title from "Queen of the Night" to the genre-typical "The Captive"...

The most ridiculous thing by far was the 'car chase' where this stupid woman
could easily shoot Reynolds, but instead always shoots at the lights or engine...It doesn't make any sense.

-Or Mika the über-pedophile visiting his pal in prison and no one of the super-detectives takes notice...

-Or Rosario Dawson being kept in a cold van in a cold garage and not even shivering. She behaves like being in a 'Club Med' or something...

-Or the black-hair-lady putting stuff in drinks in front of 100 people
and not worrying about being caught at all...

Sane people don't behave like this, Atom.

Most things about the plot and people were lazily written, cheaply executed, lacking in logic, generic or even an offensive stereotype:
The pedophile of course has to be again a shy and odd-looking guy with speech pattern problems and a thin moustache, who loves classic music and gay gestures...
A mix of Hannibal Lecter and Buffalo Bill: The same cliches since "The Silence of the Lambs" repeated again and again and again...

Sorry, but those perverts that keep girls captive are nearly always
normal-looking, heterosexual, middle-class men with limited interests
in music and the arts...THATS really scary, but probably not interesting for the Egoyan's of our world.
Check out the real life cases of Natascha Kampusch, the Belgian pedo Marc Dutroux or the many American cases like Ariel Castro: These freaks are freakin' 'normal', not like this stereotypical caricature.
They are your neighbors and friends, not typical 'odd' outsiders or social outcasts.

This movie had many problems, especially the far-fetched, absurd premise of the 'surveillance grief porn ring' and the homophobic and stereotype Mika character, but the main problem is really the director:

Atom Egoyan is not capable of directing a thriller.
Or action and suspense scenes.
He shouldn't even try.

Instead he sells out and compromises his once unique vision with more and more crappy mainstream elements.

Nobody can defend this kind of 'filmmaking': It's worthless *beep*

Atom Egoyan ruins his reputation and legacy if he carries on
doing pseudo-genre crap like his last 3 failed films.

[–] zachhaayema 10 years ago

I am sorry sir, but you are a moron. Or a hipster, one of the two.

You are one of those people who utterly fails at being an objective filmgoer. It is of course impossible to be completely objective, but you have to go into a film without this "baggage" or expectation. I know you want this to be another Exotica or Sweet Hereafter, but that, as outlined in the film, is the past... This is the present.

I went to this film knowing little and being prepared and searching for what Egoyan was trying to say. Throughout the film, he continually is questioning things, particularly our need to watch things like movies. He compares this to the bizarre need for micha to watch cass and her mother and listen to her voice, he finds it therapeutic and a calming experience. In turn, we as the audience are watching micha watch cass' mother as evidenced by the repeated looking at micha through a mirror while he watches. Egoyan wants us to question our own viewing habits so that we don't become slaves or addicted to viewing. Think of our obsession with watching tv shows like criminal minds that feature more and more outsider type people. We love observing the bizarre and odd, just like micha. Also, I disagree with your statement that micha was portrayed as cliched like silence of the lambs. He isn't a wacked out dude when he is in public, he maintains a high paying job and can have social conversations like a normal human being. He also isn't some fat, smelly, bearded man sitting at a dumpy computer in a dumpy basement, that would be cliched.

Egoyan is also verrry interested in characters that are hiding things from each other. Egoyan makes us question whether or not Matthew abused his own daughter... By having literal mirror shots that compare him to micha, as well as his obsession with keeping her toys and icons in the back seat of his truck. You are right that this is not a great thriller, but I don't think egoyan wanted it to be. He wanted it to be mundane in a way, because the idea of pedophiles isn't as shocking as it once was. And that's his point. People like Brian singer are getting away with child abuse because it isn't shocking, or it's okay because he is an artist.

I think you fell for the trap that most critics do, the trap of thinking a film needs to live up to another. It doesn't. Study the film and you will find that The Captive is indeed a good work of art. 8/10 from me.

[–] 10 years ago

[deleted]

[–] naples-884-346409 10 years ago

Mr. 'zachhaayema',

I'm sorry, Sir, but you are a moron.
Or you are Atom Egoyan.
One of the two.

Nobody who has a decent knowledge of movies & art can defend this movie
because it has no merits.

I DID judge this film on its own, because you simply can't compare
crap like this to Egoyan's first 7 movies.

I like Brian de Palma - esque thrillers about voyeurism.
But this film is simply bad on most levels.

Throughout the film, he continually is questioning things, particularly our need to watch things like movies. He compares this to the bizarre need for micha to watch cass and her mother and listen to her voice, he finds it therapeutic and a calming experience. In turn, we as the audience are watching micha watch cass' mother as evidenced by the repeated looking at micha through a mirror while he watches. Egoyan wants us to question our own viewing habits so that we don't become slaves or addicted to viewing. Think of our obsession with watching tv shows like criminal minds that feature more and more outsider type people. We love observing the bizarre and odd, just like micha.

Do you really think that this is an interesting or original subject ?
It wasn't 'original' anymore in the great "Truman Show"(Peter Weir 1998).
But that movie worked as a comedy and satire.

TODAY this voyeurism-subtext isn't interesting anymore.
It's boring.
And Egoyan did it multiple times in his earlier work before.

And, yes, Mika is a cliche:
-Why the gay gestures?
-Why the speech pattern problems like in "Manhunter"?
-Why the thin moustache ?
-Why his obsession with classic music like Hannibal Lecter?

These are movie cliches for villains since decades.
You need to go and watch more movies.

Tell Atom, too.

[–] Waldimore 9 years ago

Thank you!!!

I hated this movie and its stupidity.

There were so many plot holes it was beyond belief. What pedophile would go visit another recently arrested pedophile in jail? Really??? These people are very aware of the inherent danger and this would be taking a BIG CHANCE. And why didn't the police even investigate what visitors he had?

And why would a police officer deliberately expose themselves on camera? She could have simply unplugged the computer. I get that having the niece do that was wrong, but boy was it handled stupidly.

And who introduces a character in the last quarter of a film? Where was this chick earlier? But here she is putting poison in a drink and then being involved in the car chase, etc. I still have no idea who this character is and where she came from all of a sudden.

Terrible writing and filmmaking and completely indefensible. Really awful movie.

[–] therefdotcom 9 years ago

"I am sorry sir, but you are a"

well, that's where i stopped reading. so, you make sure at the very beginning that no one takes you seriously and then write a block of text, as if anybody would make it that far. how ironic.

[–] OldSamVimes 10 years ago

I enjoyed it.

I'd go on for a few paragraphs, but why bother?

[–] naples-884-346409 10 years ago

I enjoyed it.

I'd go on for a few paragraphs, but why bother?

Because you might discover that you're wrong ?

It's not possible to justify this movie.

Try!

[–] SteverB 7 years ago

You probably should learn what an "opinion" is, as you seem to think that everyone should share yours. You have been expressing your opinions, nothing more. I also liked this film and I don't need to justify that to you or anyone. Step off.

__________________________________________
"In your opinion?"
"Um, yes your honor, in my opinion."

[–] Chester_LP 9 years ago

Mr. naples-884-346409 is absolutely right!
I cannot comment on the stuff about Egoyan's previous films, because I haven't seen any and after this I never will.

This movie is completely ridiculous. The plot holes are huge and the acting was horrible ( except for Reynolds). Did you see the scene where Bruce Greenwood yawned? That was oscar worthy for sure. Any director who let that kind of "performance" be seen by anybody shouldn't be allowed to direct ever again. Let alone some fairly good and famous actors.

But as mentioned several times on this board, the most irritating thing about the entire piece of crap, was the cops. So we have a guy who gets in a bar brawl, 8 years later his daughter gets kidnapped and he has money troubles. Based entirely on this, the genius cop concludes that said guy sold his daughter to pedophiles??? That is just one example. The director is also the writer.

As for Mr. Zachhaayema, I am pretty sure that he is Mr. Atom Egoyan himself. No body else could, nor have a reason to defend this ****. Every single reviewer has already condemned this thing. Just look at the film's Wikipedia page.

I am mostly pissed because the trailer looked good and it tricked me. Or was it a gimmick? *beep* you Atom Egoyan!!!

[–] masuka-fan 9 years ago

I cannot comment on the stuff about Egoyan's previous films, because I haven't seen any and after this I never will.

That's a shame because while I enjoyed this film it is far from his best.

So we have a guy who gets in a bar brawl, 8 years later his daughter gets kidnapped and he has money troubles. Based entirely on this, the genius cop concludes that said guy sold his daughter to pedophiles???

When a child is abused or taken it is often a family member or someone close. Though the detective was a bit aggressive his reasoning was not off the mark.

Passion is just insanity in a cashmere sweater!

[–] naples-884-346409 8 years ago

it is far from his best.

This is probably the understatement of the decade.

Egoyan's new film "Remember" is better, but still weak and ridiculous.

[–] henrimaine 7 years ago

At the risk of drawing on myself the furious anger of the original poster, I state that the movie seemed reasonably enjoyable to me. Definitely not a masterpiece but the topics of pedophile ring, secretly filming the parents of the victims, using past victims as recruiters of new victims - these are all interesting topics. I just wish these topics had been assembled in a better fashion.