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The Captive (2014)
I liked this film a lot, let me explain...
These days, whenever I see a film title that piques my interest, especially a mediocre rating, I go into said rating and read ONLY the highest ones. Invariably, those high rating are from people with a little or lot more than the average IQ. This tells me all I need to know. I rather think when people read the blurb for a film such as this, they are expecting specifics...I'll just leave that there, suffice to say I'm pretty certain NO-ONE truly wants specifics. I'm pretty certain they would be horrific beyond measure. These things happen - a lot, and my heart cries for those brave men and women working to combat this heinous crime. So this got a 10 from me, for working with a subject in a quiet controlled way, no less heart wrenching for that, in the least. Ryan Reynolds plays the father with feeling, as does his wife and the two lead detectives. It kept me watching...could it have been better, sure. In reality I'd score it 7-8, but wanted to bump it a little, due to those twerps who don't recognise some things ought not to be displayed just for gratuitous viewing. I like films that can make your heart ache, even without that - this one does exactly that. No spoilers, just spend an evening in the warm watching a good film, replete with lots of snow.
Irresistible (2006)
Good idea, with plot holes?
I've just watched this film, so many years after its making, and enjoyed it a lot and had an inkling of where the story was going quite early on. It will keep you guessing...is Sophie going mad, is Mara the mad one, is the husband wanting an affair with Mara? So many questions.
At the end, I had to rewind and watch some relevant clips to verify the timelines, due to the ambiguity of the twist ending.
It's clear that Kate, who was killed in the fire whilst working in Kosova, is actually Sophie's real daughter. BUT, although we see documents in Mara's basements, I was left wondering how Mara had the certificate naming Sophie as the birth mother. Meaning, both Mara and Kate would have both had to initiate a wanted contact with their respective mothers, and BOTH would have received a rejection.
The dates add up...but it seems so coincidental that both of them had to have rejections from their birth mothers. We know Mara had a letter to that effect, and Kate would have had one too, owing to the fact that there was a certificate with Sophies name on it.
Did Mara take some documents from Kate at the time, or find them after her death in Kosova?
It's rather a shocking ending, knowing Mara is not the real daughter, but Sophie will continue to try to make amends and be a mother to her. A recipe for future trauma I rather think.
Still, it kept me engrossed, in no small measure due to the two leading ladies. Susan Sarandon and Emily Blunt are both fine actors, and I've never seen a bad performance by Ms Sarandon.
I was going to rate this a 7, but for the reasons above, so it got an 8!