Captives (1994)

A beautiful young dentist (Ormond) working in a tough British prison starts to become attracted to a violent inmate (Roth) after the break-up of her marriage, and embarks upon an illicit ... See full summary »

Director:

Angela Pope

Writer:

Frank Deasy

Stars:

Julia Ormond, Tim Roth, Keith Allen

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Julia Ormond	...	Rachel Clifford
Tim Roth	...	Philip Chaney
Keith Allen	...	Lenny
Siobhan Redmond	...	Sue
Peter Capaldi	...	Simon
Colin Salmon	...	Towler
Richard Hawley	...	Sexton
Annette Badland	...	Maggie
Jeff Nuttall	...	Harold
Kenneth Cope	...	Dr. Hockley
Bill Moody	...	Surgery Officer
Nathan Dambuza	...	Moses
Christina Collingridge	...	Katie
Victoria Scarborough	...	Dental Nurse
Anthony Keirnan	...	Blackie (as Anthony Kernan)

Storyline

A beautiful young dentist (Ormond) working in a tough British prison starts to become attracted to a violent inmate (Roth) after the break-up of her marriage, and embarks upon an illicit affair with him, with terrible consequences for all.

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Plot Keywords:

ripped pantyhose | hare krishna | police officer | female police officer | talking to oneself | 

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Taglines:

A passion so consuming it transforms you and makes you do the unbelievable, the unimaginable, the unthinkable.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Romance | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for a strong sex scene, and for language and some violence

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

3 May 1996 (USA)

Also Known As:

A szerelem börtönében

Filming Locations:

London, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), Distant Horizon, Miramax

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The tattoos that Tim Roth sports in the film are his own.

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Goofs

Rachael closes a door after removing a metal box, but it is shown open soon after.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Simon: [on answering machine] Rachel, hi, it's it's Simon. Um, I don't know how long you've got this flat for, but it's nice, so it's okay. I know you don't want to, but we've really got to talk about our house, and fix the price. I've tried calling you at work. Please ring back.
[Rachel holds her nose and plunges under the bath water]

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Connections

Edited into Screen Two: Captives (1996)

User Reviews

Made by the acting and the directing

Rachel Clifford is a teacher in a dentistry school who starts doing a few days a week in a local prison while breaking up with her husband. It is in this delicate state that she meets prisoner Philip Chaney in the chair. When she meets him again it is in a supermarket – she is doing a shop while he is on day release to attend college. From this informal meeting they gain a natural, chatty air and, with neither really understanding why, they start to become close and meet up each time he gets out. However, in the vicious world of prison there are no real secrets and it is only a matter of time before other cons will see this as a chance to manipulate the situation to their advantage.

Although this sounds like it has a terrible plot, it actually works pretty well for the majority of the film. The core relationship that drives the film is convincingly developed and it is only really in the later stages of the film that the need for a dramatic narrative sees things turning away from the small scale and become slightly less convincing. Of course by then I was into the characters and could forgive it but it still didn't sit that easily with me. Of course for some viewers even the relationship side won't work and I can understand why; some will see it as clunky and obvious but for me it worked and it did so for two reasons.

The first reason is the acting. Ormond may have seemed to have dropped off the A-list that she was in during the mid-1990's but here she is great. Her character is just damaged and frail enough to be needy enough to fall in love in such a situation but not to the point where her love seems like a failing. It sounds simple but it isn't and yet Ormond manages to pull it off. Roth is always interesting and he is just as good here. He is dark, hurt, filled with regret and entirely unsure of how to exist in the two worlds (prison and love) at the same time. They go well together and make things a lot more natural than the plot summary would suggest. The second reason is Pope. Her direction is very good and makes the most out of what must have been a modest budget – only occasionally does it show that it was a BBC film. She never overdoes stuff to draw emotion from the audience and she lets the actors work well.

Overall this was a good film but one that requires you to accept that you are watching a slow BBC drama rather than a Hollywood tearjerker. The story may not be totally convincing but it is not for the want of trying – Pope, Ormond and Roth combine to make this much better than it could have been. Worth seeing for slow development and engaging performances although I wonder how well it sells outside of a UK market more suited to this sort of slow burn stuff.