Captive

Little of the tension from the true-life story that inspired Captive apparently made it to the big screen.

Instead, this tawdry thriller resembles something you’d see on cable television, with its Hollywood embellishments and lack of subtlety that turns the encounter between a drug addict and an escaped convict in 2005 in Atlanta into a misguided tale of redemption.

The film opens as Brian Nichols (David Oyelowo) escapes from a county prison by beating a guard, and later kills the judge who is presiding over his rape trial. As a manhunt ensues, Brian steals a truck and searches for a hiding place.

He winds up at a suburban apartment belonging to Ashley (Kate Mara), whose methamphetamine addiction has caused her to lose custody of her young child. So she’s living alone when Brian breaks in and begins holding her hostage in exchange for sheltering him from the detective (Michael Kenneth Williams) leading the search.

After a tense start, Brian and Ashley gradually develop a reluctant trust. Ashley even gives him some drugs and reads devotional passages from The Purpose-Driven Life, which has a spiritual effect on him, although she still looks for a way out.

For Oyelowo, Captive marks a disappointing follow-up to his breakthrough role in Selma, although his performance here again showcases his versatility. Soft-spoken yet physically bulked up, his character doesn’t speak until 30 minutes into the film, yet he uses facial expressions and body language to find Brian’s troubled soul.

Still, it’s difficult to conjure sympathy for either Brian or Ashley, although the film tries to have it both ways. It winds up only trivializing Ashley’s addiction and Brian’s psychosis. Then again, the investigators tracking Brian are incompetent, too.

The screenplay by Brian Bird (Not Easily Broken) — based on a book by the actual hostage, Ashley Smith — fails to capitalize on the suspense built into its source material because it’s too busy delivering heavy-handed lessons and faith-based platitudes.

The film, directed by 1970s TV veteran Jerry Jameson, manages some frightening moments as it tries to dig behind the headlines. Yet despite its character-driven approach, it’s a muddled attempt to get inside the head of a sociopath in which any moral complexity is compromised by self-help sermonizing.

Rated PG-13, 97 minutes.