David Oyelowo and Kate Mara have snagged lead roles in the upcoming real-life thriller Captive, which is currently set to be helmed by TV directing veteran Jerry Jameson (Murder, She Wrote).
In Captive, Oyelowo portrays Brian Nichols, who in 2005 escaped from a courthouse jail and went on a shooting spree, killing the judge assigned to oversee his case as well as a court reporter, a sheriff’s deputy and (later) an FBI officer. Fleeing law enforcement, Nichols forced his way into the home of single mother and meth addict Ashley Smith (Mara), holding her hostage at gunpoint. The film will begin production this month, with Leonor Valera and Mimi Rogers set to co-star.
Smith’s struggle to survive is entailed in her autobiography Unlikely Angel: The Untold Story of The Atlanta Hostage Hero, which the film’s screenplay was partially adapted from by writer Brian Bird (Touched by an Angel) and newcomer Reinhard Denke.
Oyelowo recently delivered a stellar performance as Louis Gaines in Lee Daniels’ The Butler, while Mara has been doing great work as dogged journalist Zoe Barnes on Netflix’s House of Cards. Both of them are pretty in-demand right now in Hollywood; Oyelowo has Christopher Nolan’s top-secret Interstellar in the pipeline, while Mara recently wrapped Wally Pfister’s buzzy sci-fi project Transcendence.
Though the combined charisma of Oyelowo and Mara is undeniably dazzling, I’m a little unsure about Captive‘s potential, mostly because of its writing and direction. Hopefully, Jameson can steer the film away from treacly melodrama, but both Bird and Jameson have backgrounds in hammy soap shows, so I won’t hold my breath. Whether or not the film can succeed despite its worrying soap-opera roots remains to be seen. However, Captive‘s two leads are certainly one compelling reason to keep an eye on this project.
What do you think about Captive now that the film’s two lead actors have been announced? Will it be an engrossing thriller or an overdramatic snoozefest? Let us know in the comments!
