La négociatrice

Rhona Mitra adds a touch of class, as hostage negotiator-turned-lecturer, to director Adrian Wills' movie ostensibly about a bank robbery that swiftly goes awry. The robbers find themselves in a situation they cannot escape and must resort to holding bank staff and customers hostage. The police call in Caroline Grainger (Mitra) their regular negotiator. Superficially it appears that straightforward to the police, only we soon discover the plot is more labyrinthine. One of the robbers Eric Sanders (Zack Peladeau) has contrived the situation because he has a score to settle with the negotiator. From there on, this develops into a battle of wits between the two lead protagonists. The story is neatly laid out by Wills, events move along at a brusque pace; including finding sufficient time to reveal the angst felt by everyone. The robbers are in a desperate fix, the terrified customers in equal peril, the police face a dilemma, the inevitable swat team arrive twitchy and unpredictable, while Grainger realises she is personally involved at the core of proceedings in more ways than the police are comfortable with. In a nutshell, it makes for a compelling view. Rhona Mitra's charismatic presence, as an intelligent, calm, canny, confident woman is what makes this tale work well. She really ought to be an A-listed star.

Sometimes, while watching a film, I enjoy it from the moment it starts to the moment it ends. This wasn't one of those times. In this case, it was the opposite. 10 minutes in, a part of me wanted to stop watching. Films involving heists and/or hostages can be very similar to each other but are generally easy to make captivating. Once I was able to make it past the prologue that felt forced and random, the rest of the movie was almost tolerable. The twist redeemed the movie very slightly, which is why the movie didn't get a 3/10. But one good moment does make it worth the 1.5hrs of suffering it took to sit through this film. If you are someone that enjoys watching films, feel free to check this out. But if you are someone who enjoys watching good films, I would suggest you 'pass' on this one.

Crisis Point follows a hostage negotiator who finds it hard to get back to work after a botched job in which someone dies. She then finds herself in a situation where she must return to work to help save a family member. The opening scene is well executed and grabs your attention. Although plagued by an irritating musical score the film moves along at a brisk pace. The hostage scenes are tense and well done. Sure there are a few plot contrivances and I'm not sure how realistic the negotiation scenes are but this is a film and not a documentary, so I wasn't too bothered about that aspect. It's all fairly predictable stuff but most importantly it is an enjoyable film and better than some much higher budget hostage films I've seen. Rhona Mitra is a decent actress and does a very good in the lead role here. The rest of the cast also do a decent job especially Elias Toufexis who is good as the main hostage taker. If you don't expect too much then this in an entertaining film. One of the better TV movies you will see.