Set in a Chicago neighborhood nearly a decade after an occupation by an extra-terrestrial force, Captive State explores the lives on both sides of the conflict - the collaborators and dissidents.
A former wrestler and his family make a living performing at small venues around the country while his kids dream of joining World Wrestling Entertainment.
A grieving snowplow driver seeks out revenge against the drug dealers who killed his son. Based on the 2014 Norwegian film 'In Order of Disappearance'.
Director:
Hans Petter Moland
Stars:
Liam Neeson,
Laura Dern,
Micheál Richardson
Set in a Chicago neighborhood nearly a decade after an occupation by an extra-terrestrial force, Captive State explores the lives on both sides of the conflict - the collaborators and dissidents.
Set long after the initial invasion and mostly concerned with the logistics of what guerrilla fighting would look like under alien occupation this is refreshing take on the space invaders subgenre. The film's focus and plotting around how humans would conduct terrorist attacks is at once subversive and sociologically relevant. The plotting was mostly plausible, through I imagine the big twist at the end is something of cheat. (It seems unnecessary in how many steps were involved). In any case, the film's low-key focus is a nice break from the bamboozle that makes up this subgenre. The film plays much more like a thriller than an action film. But, alas, the film focuses on the details and misses the big strokes.
The aliens are utterly nebulous. Their motives, actions and basic social structures are entirely unclear. On a plot level this is largely OK; the various twists and turn of the plot keep the issue in the background. But it makes it very hard to nail down what sort of allegory the film is trying to make. The aliens stand in for a pretty unspecific authoritarianism and/or police state. This unspecified symbolism is empty. It renders the film hollow and frankly a little dull. This really isn't a film that calls out to be re-watched due to this issue.
Wyatt directs with a docudrama feel that adds to the film's interest in the logistics of resistance. It is generally effective. Wyatt does a good job of using the film's limited budget to his advantage. The aliens are never really clearly shown; while the use of shadow to hide the (relatively) low budget is an old trick I found its use effective here. He gets good performances from his cast. Goodman, while giving an engaging performance, doesn't quite sell a central tension of his character. The final film is weakened because of that.
This was a good idea that didn't make it off the page well.
6 of 9 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful to you?
| Report this
Set long after the initial invasion and mostly concerned with the logistics of what guerrilla fighting would look like under alien occupation this is refreshing take on the space invaders subgenre. The film's focus and plotting around how humans would conduct terrorist attacks is at once subversive and sociologically relevant. The plotting was mostly plausible, through I imagine the big twist at the end is something of cheat. (It seems unnecessary in how many steps were involved). In any case, the film's low-key focus is a nice break from the bamboozle that makes up this subgenre. The film plays much more like a thriller than an action film. But, alas, the film focuses on the details and misses the big strokes.
The aliens are utterly nebulous. Their motives, actions and basic social structures are entirely unclear. On a plot level this is largely OK; the various twists and turn of the plot keep the issue in the background. But it makes it very hard to nail down what sort of allegory the film is trying to make. The aliens stand in for a pretty unspecific authoritarianism and/or police state. This unspecified symbolism is empty. It renders the film hollow and frankly a little dull. This really isn't a film that calls out to be re-watched due to this issue.
Wyatt directs with a docudrama feel that adds to the film's interest in the logistics of resistance. It is generally effective. Wyatt does a good job of using the film's limited budget to his advantage. The aliens are never really clearly shown; while the use of shadow to hide the (relatively) low budget is an old trick I found its use effective here. He gets good performances from his cast. Goodman, while giving an engaging performance, doesn't quite sell a central tension of his character. The final film is weakened because of that.
This was a good idea that didn't make it off the page well.