"Captive" Critique
====================

Production company: Gwenmedia [ http://www.gwenmedia.com ]

External Distributor company: Pulse Distribution
[ http://www.pulsedistribution.com ]

Production Date: September 28th 2008
Original Release Date: January 2009 (self-release)
General Release date: February 20th 2009

Director: John Fitzgerald [ http://www.thndrshark.com ]

Positives:

* VERY powerful real BDSM action including water torture
* Excellent acting by Mz. Berlin in her role of the more than meets the eye "damsel"
* remains focused on being a BDSM film and does not waiver from that core idea
* creative plot-twist
* can be easily developed into the second volume and possible reliable series


Negatives:

* Too brief
* more reactions to the torture's duration SHOULD have been included
* Plotline has missing elements and plot-twist is not fully explained
* ending is intentionally vague -- seems to be intentional for series development


Film Time: 38 [min] 14 [sec]

Settings: warehouse

Gallery: Auto-advance-no skipping to individual pictures (back and forth by controller's remote no obvious button indicator;
thirty-eight (38) pictures total
Transition: None - immediate replacement by next picture

Behind the scenes -- NOTHING

Trailers: 1) Sisters (Gwen Media) --- 2) Ivy Manor 5: Rubber Dreams --- 3) Slavery, A Love Story pt 1

Rubber/Latex costuming amount: None

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Okay let me make this simple -- give Fitzgerald and Mz. Berlin the friggin 2010 AVN Award for best BDSM film.

While many will complain about the ending of this film -- and they are correct to do so -- there is no denying that this is another good BDSM film from Fitzgerald that you will NOT be able to ignore or forget too quickly.

If you have seen half of the current releases from so called BDSM producers, then you KNOW that Fitzgerald deserves it and Berlin definitely shows she has some honestly solid acting chops.

Despite certain weak elements in this film, Fitzgerald continues to showcase his raw talent for understanding the real power in BDSM films namely the power exchange of the sub and the dom. And here he showcases that with Captive.

Now while it appears that Fitzgerald has been watching the old crime show channel a little too much he more than makes this an enjoyable emotional and psychological exploration rather than falls down into a mere indulgence.

Gods someone needs to give Mz. Berlin an acting award as she plays it so straight that you just immediately identify with her in the sub role here. Just as she and Fitzgerald planned it. Yes we were pwned by Mz. Berlin.

"Aren't you here to save me? I'm just here for the interview"

Yeah but we can see here just who is interviewing who? And what info is really being sought out?

Of course, the breaking process shown is very well done. Berlin responses to the water torture is undeniably powerful. Just in the water drinking scene of day two you can really see the mental intensity that Fitzgerald made in creating this powerhouse and the full acting scope that Mz. Berlin brings to this project. True the film would have been far more powerful and personal if Fitzgerald had shown peeing as this is basically a "watersport" themed film. AND would have been more powerful in its breaking process as that is one of the most personal acts one does as it reveals the person not as a cultivated individual but an animal engaging in one of the most base actions that they do. But then the spectre of obscenity would be brought up, possibly against the paying producer. Thus more than likely, Isabella refused to allow it to be in the final film. Yes I agree that such watersport inclusion would have increased the effectiveness of the film and would be better for future films if Fitzgerald would create his own studio to release more powerful material that he would want to showcase. But Fitzgerald has already said that he does not have the interest to doing such operations. But we DO get a powerful set here as is.

We continue to see that power in the water soaking scene where her character really starts to fight back against her imprisonment and captor. We start to see her real persona as she continues to remain focused on resisting her captor. But she does immediately change over from passive baby into fierce tigeress but slowly as she tries to get some information from her captor as well. Why is she doing that? Is there more to her than we have seen in the first part of this film? If that is so, then why is she no longer asking for information and demanding her release?

Just what is really going on here?

The mainstream media loves to portray that resistence to interrogation techniques by the good guys usually in military scenes with the phrase of "Give them only your Name, rank and serial number" and then watch the captive soldier parrot their name, rank and serial number. Anyone who has been in the service knows that is not true, no more so than shouting "Fire!" to indicate the launch of a missile. Suffice it to say, the successful resistence uses any small phrase repeated over and over again as it is used to focus one's self past their interrogator's attempt to get information. And Fitzgerald writes that part perfectly with some fairly good timing as we can see as Berlin's character lets go of her cover story slowly in response to her torture. No one really remembers the details of a cover story under pressure. You can prove it yourself by trying it. Ask someone to tell you what they did that day. Even if it is just five things. THEN ask them to repeat those same five things BACKWARDS. If it really happened, they will be easily able to tell you the baby went crazy BEFORE the certified letter was delivered and sent back as it inspired emotional links in the brain. Non experienced stories rarely do that. That says Fitzgerald has some experience or knows people who are dealing with the real stuff.

But the plotline is defeated with the ending where the interrogator simply pours all of her items back on the floor after unshackling her. WHAT?!?!? Just what is this brain dead action doing here in this power torture film? What thinking person would

1) free someone they just TORTURED? -- for an ENTIRE WEEK!!

2) NOT inspect all the items they are getting from their PRISONERS before giving them back to the prisoners?

While I agree that technically this turn-about plot device in scripted films is nothing new and be used applicably in such a genre. And these ARE a real world devices and not obvious fantasy items and as such the lipstick gun and its usage fits within this largely real-world setting. Guns, disguised as lipsticks, have been developed and used since World War II

[ http://www.gizmag.com/go/1512/ ]

as well as other small hand-held disguised deadly offensive devices and are included in a lot of personal defense packages of the elite and very wealthy on a regular basis for decades. So to use one as a solution for this film is not beyond the range of plot credibility. And the usage of that device SPECIFICALLY ends the idea that she is some innocent who merely walked into a trap that was intended for someone else which will make a LOT of people sit upright in their chair when they see it for the first time. She is a dangerous intelligent powerful woman who went in undercover to specifically confront this kidnapper and/or his handler.

BUT that makes the ending so incredibly unacceptable. To have such a dangerous device OVERLOOKED by a PROFESSIONAL hitman is just plain STUPID. And worse yet, to show him being so obviously stupid to have HIS VICTIM WHO HE JUST TORTURED FOR SEVEN DAYS STRAIGHT allowed to be UNSHACKLED on the floor was BEYOND plain MORONIC. Even the most simple person would fight back if given the opportunity especially if we see the intensity of the fight building up as we did for the bulk of the film under the torture she endured.

While that successful deception throughout the film makes Mz. Berlin's character a successful hitwoman as she was a capable infiltrator against the competition, the plothole here is just too obvious to ignore. And worse yet, the plot disconnect is just finalized with the shot which is then compounded further as Berlin's character does not try to figure out WHO her attacker was speaking to. I mean all she had to do was take the cell phone of her attacker to continue to find out who hired this attacker for hire. So if her target was the kidnapper specifically and NOT the person who hired him, we are not told WHY she went after the attacker by going to this interview. Did he kidnap someone close to Berlin's character and this is retribution? Did he cause her some personal tragedy? Or was he merely the competition and she wanted to get rid of him and take over his operations? We simply are NOT told.

And to leave such a obvious unresolved storyline with NO clarification of any of the major elements

-- reason for the conflict

-- background of the character

is BAD writing.

And I do NOT expect bad writing from Fitzgerald.

While some can -- and ARE already saying -- well that leaves the plotline open for another episode of this film to be built upon if there is interest to do so for Fitzgerald and Berlin, that complete removal of the character's setup and lack of a resolution really interferes with the conclusion of THIS film. Believe me if Fitzgerald and Berlin are looking to make a fetish female version of Takao Saito's "Golgo 13" or a torture enduring version of John Willie's U-89 (similar to Osvaldo Greco's reinterpretation of the original character though his is basically Rubberella in disguise), believe me, I and a LOT of people will be supporting Berlin continuing in this character enduring harsh bondage and then eliminating her on-screen competition. But a BETTER story structure has to be done than this.

I hope that if this is the basis for an emerging series with Berlin as the often enduring captured though successful hitwoman/spy,


-- NO I am NOT going to get into the
long standing Rubberella series
controversy at this point, as some are
already talking based on recent events

and more applicable to this film in
particular, this film is far more
mundane world than that living rubber
doll conversion series was --


I hope there is a FAR better and more clarified development in the successive episodes. As is this left me enjoying the bondage but let me flat on the storyline and that has always been the strength of Fitzgerald's films -- a complete cohesive WHOLE that focuses on the intensity of ALL its elements.

While I can appreciate leaving some elements anonymous to inspire more interest and perhaps even as a lead in for future episodes as done at the end of the first "Part-Time" film where Casey is left staked to the ground, I hope that this intentional usage of minimalism will NOT become a trend for Fitzgerald's future films. Though I can NOT deny the fact that I am already hoping for another usage of this line in ANOTHER film.

So this film accomplishes its goal of keeping me and other interested in the film and not forgetting it.


--------------------------

IN A NUTSHELL:

An enigma wrapped in an imaginative BDSM film that will grab you that leaves you wanting MORE in the end.

BOTH in a good AND bad way.

This film is easy to appreciate as a powerful psychological thriller and focused real world BDSM usage film that many consumers will have seen in a LONG time. The film fits well with the mainstream upcoming "Prisoner" remake of the BBC 1960s series.

But the ending runs counter to the power edge that went on before. And as a potential spy series that is a good thing as it will make you want to see more of Berlin enduring long and intense bondage sessions like this.

But as a storyline, a LOT of people are going to be screaming for a clearer answer. And hopefully if Fitzgerald and Mz. Berlin decide to build on this power film, we will get some answers to what was going on here.

The only two things that many people will resist is the end water torture used in the film (too realistic for some I think but films are meant to inspire SOME controversy and push boundaries at times and this works in this film) and that ending that clearly shows Berlin's character was no mere accident but a female spy who willingly entered into the den of danger. The disguised gun in the purse however feels forced though fits with Berlin's emerging focused resistence in the later portion.

But despite that we are all STILL going to keep nagging "When is the next Fitzgerald film?" as despite these plotholes, this film continues to showcase Fitzgerald's and Berlin's ability to create at this level. And with warts and all Fitzgerald's less than stellar is better than most who are producing. So again I state "when is the NEXT Fitzgerald film?"



FINAL RATING: SEVEN out of TEN