Ethan Hawke and Mark Strong make a great pair in the bank heist drama ‘The Captor.’
Based on real life events in 1973, ‘The Captor’ tells the story of a man who robs a bank in Zurich and demands the release of his friend. Hawke is great as Lars Nystrom (the name is Swedish though Hawke is clearly speaking in his American accent – which is a bit confusing) and Strong is Gunnar Sorensson – and The Captor (released this year in the U.S. under the name Stockholm) captures these real life events where the term ‘Stockholm Syndrome’ became known (one of the hostages – Biaca Lind (Noomi Rapace) fell in love with Nystrom during the ensuing drama).
The minute Nystrom walks into Kreditbanken in Stockholm to hold it up, everything starts to go wrong. But Hawke, perhaps one of the most consistent actors around (look at his recent movie c.v.; ‘First Reformed’ – where he won many acting awards – ‘Boyhood,’ ‘Before Midnight’), Hawke more than ably delivers, even though at times the script gets a bit silly. As the tension in ‘The Captor’ rises, and when Sorensson joins Hawke and the three hostages, it not a given that Nystrom’s demands will be met. Negotiations with Sweden’s Prime Minister don’t go according to plan, but its the fascination, and crush, that Lind has for Nystrom, in which she will do anything to help him and Gunnar escape – increases the tension.
‘The Captor’ is 92 minutes of fast and furious action with Hawke being the glue that holds this film together. Filmed in 2017, it took two years for it to hit the big screens. It’s definitely worth the watch. Canadian Director Robert Budreau and Hawke have worked together before (‘Born to Be Blue’ – the Chet Baker Story) and again they prove they work very well together here.
Review by Tim Baros