Screen scenes

“Hostage” Directed by Florent Siri Miramax
Films

French director Florent Siri’s American debut film
“Hostage” is more than just the next big Hollywood
crime thriller. Based on the book by Robert Crais,
“Hostage” follows Jeff Talley (Bruce Willis), an
emotionally scarred former LAPD hostage negotiator, who recently
became the clean-cut chief of police in a low-crime community in
Ventura. But just as Talley forgets his tumultuous past, a complex
hostage situation involving three teenage boys occurs on one of the
town’s wealthiest properties. To make matters worse,
Talley’s own wife and daughter are also taken hostage by a
group involved in an unknown business transaction with the owner of
the house (Kevin Pollak). Through this intriguing parallel
structure, “Hostage” exposes the multi-faceted nature
of such events absent from the flat portrayals of most crime-action
films. Literal and figurative hostage events take shape as the film
becomes a poignant analysis of the emotional and moral drama
involved with external and internal entrapment. Stemming from the
pretentious European tendency to focus on character rather than
solely on action, the film takes the idea of “suspense
drama” to a new level. Though “Hostage” certainly
has more than its share of bloodshed, spectacular explosions and
dramatic stunts ““ spectacle at its finest ““ there is a
prevalent emphasis on the personal relationships. Not to say that
“Hostage” doesn’t have its share of cheesiness.
Unnecessary references culminating in dramatic innuendo are
laughable at times. Still, “Hostage” balances a radical
plot line with pragmatism. And ultimately, the film has more twists
than skilled actors, as the inherent sensationalism of the
Hollywood crime-thriller makes the film entertaining and
intriguing. In combining spectacular Hollywood with a European
flair, “Hostage” becomes a complex action-drama with an
arty twist. A little something for everyone. -Devon
Dickau