The most challenging thing about Rupert Wyatt ’s new picture show , Captive State , is that unlike most sci - fi film , it pick up after an alien encroachment . It ’s the fib of a earthly concern where aliens invaded , humanity lost , and now they are our rulers . Of of course , in that scenario , some citizenry would need to rise up and fight down the oppressors .
How it ’s manage , though , is slightly in opposition to what you may have a bun in the oven the photographic film to be . This is not an over - the - top , bitch - ass action picture . The skill fabrication element are handled very realistically with some of the most audacious ideas off - screen , and the alien , for the most part , push to the side . If anything , Captive State is more of a ‘ LXX political thriller with sporadic heist element , showing the intricate step take by a small group of stranger to come together and strike a blow against an evil hierarchy . Which , considering today ’s political climate , rings a little more than dependable .
At the meat of Captive State is Gabriel ( Ashton Sanders ) , a young man live on the outskirts of the jurisprudence . He ’s trying to get by the best he can and maybe even escape the confines of Chicago with his girlfriend ( Madeline Brewer ) . He also happens to be the younger brother of a legendary freedom fighter ( Jonathan Majors ) who was kill the last time man arise up against the alien .
Then there ’s William Mulligan ( John Goodman ) , a law - enforcement officer who is on the tail of a mysterious terrorist grouping called Phoenix . Mulligan believe Phoenix is poised to strike once again against the alien “ legislator , ” just like when Gabriel ’s pal was killed several eld ago , and he ’s set on stopping them .
engrossed State weave those two tale , and several others , together into a what can almost be described as a shiny object narrative . Much like an animal that ’s doing one thing , only to straight off finish because they see something bright , the film jump from one character or one story to another almost without poster , which often times is jarring . Everything is fluid . Main characters drop out of the cinema for recollective stretches of time only to resurface after once the tale has a need for them . Characters we do n’t know are introduce with little ostentation , making them feel like they were already part of the narration . Intriguing bits of mythology are mentioned but never explore . All of this gives the whole picture a slightly incomplete , unfocussed feeling because we are n’t always sure what we ’re watching or why it ’s important .
gratefully , that confusion can be equally momentary because Wyatt and his squad cast it all within a fascinating andterrifyingly familiar surveillance state . Every human is implanted with a tracker which makes walk down the street , let alone committing crimes , hard . That construct results in all mixture of exciting scenes , ranging from tense to gruesome . They also help keep the film incredibly unpredictable , which is at multiplication liberating but also thwarting , like when a fictitious character mistake into a super nerveless mysterious humans that we never get to see .
Much like the film has a mysterious caliber to it , so too do some of the performance . Goodman ’s character somehow always feel like he ’s one thing while testify us he ’s the opposite . Sanders ’ character is structure to be our hero , but really never feels that expansive . Oscar candidate Vera Farmiga also has a fundamental patronise purpose and , like her Centennial State - sensation , drive home a performance with different layers of truth both on the surface and below it . Each present a touchy residuum of duplicitous that keeps us guess about their true design , which influence in bicycle-built-for-two with the repose of the movie .
in the end though , Wyatt and co - writer Erica Beeney roll in the hay what they ’re doing . Every little detail is working toward something very specific , and the film ’s third - number reveals bring it all together in a way that ’s both incredibly cheering and extremely superimposed . Captive State begs for a loving cup of coffee after , not just to hash out the complexities of the narrative , but also its overt political metaphors and symbolization .
Which is to say , Captive State has a lot of things move for it while also feeling like it could have been more . There ’s tons of potential drop left on its edges , brush aside in favor of a dense history that ’s maybe too thematically conversant in these times . The moving picture has a sight to say , but it ’s rarely more than we see on the news program every Nox . Luckily , there are enough coolheaded and weird sci - fi component sprinkled on top of that that give Captive State good deal of intrigue and amusement to go with the apologue .
Captive State opens March 15 . Check back soon for our interview with director and co - writer Rupert Wyatt .
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