Captives (1994)

Captives is a great little movie and one of Julia's best. When I watched it for the first time I thought "no big deal", but the second time around I really got into it. Tim Roth gets top billing but I think that it's really Julia's movie it terms of screen time and material. But that's my opinion.

Julia's character is just out of a messy break-up. (from Peter Capaldi who is in the thing for 30 seconds and who will turn up later in Smilla's Feeling for Snow. For 37 seconds.)

She takes a part-time job as a prison dentist.  All the "cons" are dodgy blokes except for Tim Roth who is doing his strong silent type thing. He passes her a note saying that he hasn't had a visit in years. Julia does some thinking and then changes her hair-do so that the prison staff won't recognise her.

(Well, it worked in Sabrina too!)

So begins an illicit relationship between Julia and the Timster, who gets let out once a week to attend a computer class. Lots of meaningful looks and stolen moments of finger sucking. Really! But it's all tastefully done...

Then one of the more dodgy convicts finds out about their relationship and decides to use the situation to his advantage.

My only complaint is that the movie is over too quickly. Another 10 minutes or so to wrap things up would have been useful. But the fact is that this is one of Julia's best movies. Please try to see it.