Hostage is a pseudo-thriller by Florent Emilio Siri, starring Bruce Willis and Ben Foster. Jeff Talley (Willis) is a broken-down hostage negotiator, who moves out to the suburbs and to semi-retirement to escape his failures. His life seems to be finally settling down, when three teens in a beat-up pickup truck throw a monkey wrench in to the works by taking a family in his neighborhood hostage in their mansion. The teens are completely random characters, as is the family they take captive. The entire situation is nonsensical.
The major conflict is between the rich and powerful elite and the blue-collar peons of society. Talley stands alone on the frontier between the two divides, and intermittently traverses the boundaries of each group. Unfortunately, the film deals poorly with this theme, and viewers looking for depth will be disappointed.
Director Siri seems to be unconcerned with providing any real foundation to the characters, and merely thrusts you into a world of utter disarray. Most of the movie is very conveniently arranged so that the viewer forgets how unrealistic the scenes are. Siri might have made his movie more believable by suspending our disbelief, but he does not set it up as such. Instead, he takes pains to make his world seem believable, which makes the unrealistic parts of the film more marked. The director wrestles with realism and formalism, and ends up with a mess. A few times there are very promising scenes, but they are not tied together by the end. The audience is expected to enjoy them and then forget them, as much of the movie is really fluff.
The only thing worse than the direction would be the storyline and plot. For at least a third of the movie, you feel like you're watching a dramatic knock-off of Home Alone, as a young boy uses secret passages and superior knowledge of his house to battle the intruders. There is no plot, other than a series of impractical events. The worst part is that at no point is the movie even really about the hostages. The viewer never learns anything about anyone. In the end, the film is just an excuse to destroy a mansion, without even any explosions to talk about. The lack of suspense is a monumental letdown.
Willis is adequate, but his character is under-developed and crude. Many close-ups at dramatic moments would be much better if the audience could identify with something more than a cop who doesn't want people to die. Foster, who plays the antagonist murderer Mars, is believable, and at times brings humanity to his character. There is even a bit of symbolism in his name and the fiery ending. Still, most of his lines are one syllable, and the role is hardly a standout performance. Kevin Pollak delivers the best acting job of the film as the rich mansion owner, Smith. But Pollak is always good, whether in The Usual Suspects, or Grumpier Old Men.
I was also able to interview Foster via telephone after watching the film, and he seemed pretty pleased with, and even impressed by the film. He also seemed to suggest that the film's lack of foundation and depth was intentional.
"It was about stripping down as many words as possible," said Foster, referring to the minimal dialogue. "It was really about the look. A lot of technical aspects would have taken out the fluidity of the experience."
Personally, I think a movie without technical aspects -- camera work, cinematography, special effects, even some good dialogue -- is like an essay without grammar. It's not that there aren't great movies with pure action and no real depth. It's been done, but it is rare. When I asked how he interpreted his final scene in the movie, which is supposed to be the climax of the movie, Foster responded, "I'd rather not talk about that kind of thing."
Hostage is filled with young actors. Unfortunately, they all deliver sub par performances. None of them is complex, nor do they have any decent dialogue. Perhaps this is due to poor direction, but I also question the actors' will to perform. "I'm a mumbler, " says Foster. Maybe that is why they were "stripping down as many words as possible"! Foster concluded the interview by saying, "It's not high art, it's entertainment." Well put, Ben.
Overall, I found the film to be pleasing for the first hour. After that, the script takes a turn for the worse, and I contemplated walking out. A few people started leaving in the last few minutes of the film, and I believe they realized whatever they were expecting was not going to happen. I give the film a 60 out of a possible 100. The only real hostages are those who sit in the theater for 102 minutes, which seems like three hours.
Hostage
Starring: Bruce Willis, Jonathan Tucker, Ben Foster
Director: Florent Emilio Siri
RunTime: 122 minutes
Rating: R
Showing at: Loews White Marsh, AMC Towson, UA Westview Mall 9, R/C East Points Movies 10
