Customer Reviews

Captives [VHS]

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I stumbled upon this video very late one night about two weeks ago, quite by accident. I was drawn in immediately and held absolutely spellbound by the performances of both Tim Roth and Julia Ormond. Since then, I have purchased the video and rewatched it more times than I can count, each time loving the movie more. This is a love story against all odds, a tender, heart-wrenching, passionate love story, of two people drawn together by lonliness, need, and desire. I agree with one reviewer who said this was one of the most erotically charged films ever seen. I have never seen Roth portray this kind of character and, I must say, I have become an avid fan and only hope he will take on more roles of this nature. His performance was riveting, i.e., tender, sensitive, poignant, and very human. I certainly don't mean to downplay Ormond's performance, it was superb as well. The chemistry between the actors was incredibly real, both of whom conveyed so much feeling through their eyes, facial expressions and body language. Since discovering this gem, I have read a lot of the reviews, and I totally disagree with one movie critic who said Roth was miscast in the part. The fact that he does not look like Brad Pitt makes it even more believeable for me. Roth may not be handsome in the classic sense, but he has a unique look, very sexy, intense, charismatic and sensual. This movie touches me deeply, I only wish that the ending had not been so rushed. I would love to see this movie make it to DVD.

Wow, I just saw this movie and knew beforehand I'd love it. Why? Tim Roth. I would watch Tim Roth reading "Barney's Christmas Adventure". I don't care what he does, he's an excellent and riveting actor -watching him is like being drawn towards a graviational field . There are few actors with this much soul.
I've always puzzled over the so-called "Beautiful men" who are supposed to have all this sex appeal -they leave me cold. They're all too pretty for my tastes. They look like mannequins.
Roth is so uniquely "Roth" -there's no one else like him- and this gives him a powerful charisma. He's perfect in roles which require him to show off his natural raw energy and earthiness and this role as the tender yet passionate convict is perfect for him. Julia Ormand is also great and convincing as the woman rather stunned by her attraction to someone so unlikely. So much is conveyed between these two by facial expression. A beautifully nuanced performance by both actors, which makes the physicality of their later embrace so much more erotic than anything I've seen in film for a long, long time.
Very sexy in a gorgeous, sensuous way with delicious subtleties -right down to the tattoos on Roth's arm.

I have watched this movie about a zillion times, I really love it! I saw it at the video store one day and could not resist, Tim Roth is one of my favorites and he is so great in all his films, and very sexy and sensitive in this one. Most films Roth is in, he usually plays villains, he seems to able to tap into that very well. This film has a rather dark story and Julia Ormond is a dentist and had recently split from her husband who was cheating, she works at the prison Roth is finishing up his sentence in. They begin a very intense romance until things start to get complicated! Don't pass this movie up, british films are far better!!

I totally disagreed with a review of this movie in which it was suggested that Tim Roth was not suited for this role. While I already knew that he is a brilliant actor, I was swept away by the chameleonic, sensual quality he displayed in Captives. Roth, like John Malkovich in Dangerous Liaisons, has proven that you don't have to look like Brad Pitt to be the romantic leading man.

The ending was a bit rushed for me; however, Roth and Ormond are very successful in their attempts to portray the tortured characters in this strange and slightly twisted love story.

I first saw this film about two years ago but did not think much of it. I watched it again when it was broadcast late at night. How my opinion has changed. I found the relationship between Ormond and Roth beautiful, amist the cold and starkness of prison life. The contrast is what makes the love story different to many others around. The love and chemistry that bloomed between these two lonely people is what makes the film so compeling to watch. Both characters come from very different backgrounds with one thing in common; their devotion and seemingly true emotions for eachother. A great cast and script (especially the conclusion) pull at the heartstrings of the viewer. This proves that true love can survive all-there is a chance for us all.

I was inspired to write because I like this actor SO much. The movie's script may seem improbable (jail dentist having affair with inmate)but who really knows...certainly the acting ability of the leads (Julia Ormand and Tim Roth)convinced me that the characters were destined for each other. The depiction of life inside, people's motivations, both good and bad seemed very realistic and thought provoking. I liked to see at least one movie that doesn't equate criminality with being evil or insane....sometimes it's just the bad, stupid actions or mistakes that good people make. Yes he committed the crime but he is paying for it. Also, I'm a hopeless romantic and the movie indulged me, e.g. the sex scenes were incredibly erotic and Tim Roth is my ideal of a man with intelligent sex appeal. I believe this movie would appeal to both sexes for different reasons.

If you're in the mood for raw, brutal emotion this is it. Superbly acted story of the desperation of loneliness and the lengths one will go to for passion. BEAUTIFUL! Buy it, watch it. One of my Top Ten films of all time.

Let me disagree with the statement that movie makes it look like it's a justifiable homicide. I think what the movie does excellently is revealing and developing Roth's character - and he is obviously not a "common" criminal. He is what we might call a normal man who happens to feel perhaps more deeply/strongly than some and that makes him react the way he did to his wife's affair. He is shown to have a had a normal life once, with a normal job of "wiring and rewiring houses" - a person who just happened to make a critical mistake, a wrong turn you might call it. He is not a violent man yet he has to learn to defend himself in the environment he found himself in - that's shown so well in the scene with the two "pillow case" attackers (what do they say about prisons actually making people worse than they used to be? it's all the environment). I think the movie shows that not everything can be called black and white, good or bad, but things in real life are more complicated, people are complicated creatures, they make mistakes.

I almost agreed with you that Phillip is not shown with enough caring for Rachel's well-being, safety and right to know the character of the man she is with. Yes, sometimes when I watched the scene where he gives her a hug in the university, I thought - come on, man, is that really all the support you can offer your woman, a shoulder to cry on? But then again I think the movie attempts to show just that - he is not the perfect man, a knight on a white horse, he is a broken man who found his life took an unexpected turn and brought him where he never expected to be, an environment of gangsters, murderers, rapists. So he is deeply vulnerable and in a way powerless - he doesn't have the outside-of-prison connections like Towler does because was never from that environment. Remember the scene when he hangs up making it look like they got disconnected, how he knocks on the phone stand revealing utter nervousness - "vulnerable" is written all over that. So again I think the movie does an unbelivable job of showing the depths of the character, never black and white.

When I rented this movie I really didn't think it was going to be very good. I had never seen Tim Roth and Julia Ormand in anything before. Normally I would have thought that is an off the wall movie that most people wouldn't like. There was definitey something passionate between Roth and Ormand. It wasn't really overly sexual, just enough excitement to keep you on edge.It was very suspenseful and adventures and the ending was a little bit scary at first but turned out to be a surprise. If you want to see a great movie that you might not normally pick by chance, try this one because it will surprise you.

Ormand and Roth have wonderful chemistry in this tale of love against all odds. One of the most erotically charged films I have ever seen. The anguish and longing the actors convey through their eyes alone is breathtaking. A movie for all true romantics!