Sequestro em Cleveland

I'm always keen to learn about real-life crime stories and the Ariel Castro kidnappings particularly interested me. The 'Cleveland Abduction' TV film is certainly an interesting watch, though that is down almost entirely to the subject it is covering and not the actual merits of the film. At best, 'Cleveland Abduction' is a solid portrayal of kidnappings, but in reality it could have and probably should have been at lot better.

The film seems to cover the bare minimum of the story, covering all the main events but without going into any real detail and with very little character development. It all feels very half-hearted and even the events the film does cover are portrayed without any real conviction and are less than convincing.

'Cleveland Abduction' is a fascinating watch, but almost entirely because of the story. The film itself is average at best, covering the minimum but lacking in depth and conviction.

It's 2002 Cleveland. Michelle Knight (Taryn Manning) is a struggling single mother. Her mother is unreliable. Social services is trying to take away her son. While walking to court to get him back, she is kidnapped by acquaintance Ariel Castro (Raymond Cruz). She is kept as a sex slave for 11 years during which he also kidnaps Amanda Berry and Gina DeJesus. They finally escape in 2013.

It's a Lifetime movie. The brutal true story is told in a straight forward manner. Taryn Manning makes this more compelling than simply the material. The brutality is kept at a certain level since it's a Lifetime movie. It's a harrowing story. A couple of scenes after the rescue are actually quite heart-breaking.

The Cleveland abductions ? You remember that don't you ? No ? Let me refresh your memory . , A couple of years ago police in Cleveland Ohio raided a house belonging to one Ariel Castro who as it turned out kept three young women as captives . One of whom Michelle Knight had been held prisoner for eleven years . You remember it now and it'd be impossible to forget this true life horror story and this TVM tells of Michelle's ordeal

Now to be fair having the story told through a television film via the Lifetime Channel is both a blessing and a curse . A blessing that we're not going to be subjected to extreme exploitation that's going to keep us awake for nights on end due to the disturbing subject material but at the same time a curse that the restrain of a TVM really doesn't do the story justice . In this medium it's a rather uneasy mix but doesn't stop an opening caption that "Contains distressing scenes . Viewer discretion advised" . The constant rapes and beatings of Michelle are thankfully left mainly to the imagination but at the same time you're left thinking that this isn't due to any cerebral reason except that you're not allowed to show that type of stuff on the channel . In other words the story is shaped by outside criteria that have got absolutely nothing to do with the story and everything to do with outside factors . Another irritant is that you never get to feel much in the way of Michelle's hopes of ever being rescued being dashed time and again which I'm sure must have constantly happened . None of this is helped by the feeling of time passing being conspicuous by its absence and much of this TVM feels like it has taken place in 90 minutes rather than the eleven years of Michelle's real time imprisonment . There's not enough foundations for the audience to emotionally invest enough in to Michelle's ordeal which is terrible but at the same time abstract which means despite the compelling subject matter the characters remain entirely distant

I thought the story telling was great. For the people asking why the horrendous acts weren't portrayed- it's not a snuff film. For those asking why we couldn't see more from the other victims perspective nor why the neighbours didn't speak out- it's a film that has a time restriction to it. For those wanting more answers to the complex relationship of a capture who violently, cruelly and mental manipulates his victims (I'm one of these)- again it's a film with time restrictions that issue in itself would result in a film of at least 6 months long I'm sure.

This film sickened me and I almost stopped watching because of the content. But I rate the film highly because the story was portrayed well and showed a horrific story as well as any Hollywood film could, plus the actors were great.

Cleveland Abduction is very identical to case documentary or event reenactment, and it's highly effective. It doesn't present too much glossy cinematography to make it as authentic as possible, though still with enough restriction for the delicate subject. Acting from Taryn Manning and Raymond Cruz, the captor and captive, are brazenly intimidating to highlight the gruesome struggle.

It follows the event of actual kidnapping where a man, Ariel Castro (Raymond Cruz) abducts three women for eleven years. The movie depicts this horrendous act with superior acting and true to life visual. It occasionally looks devoid of color, grainy and dirty, while some of the outdoor scenery seems refreshing with cool ambiance. This presents the urban location in accurate perspective along with its darker shade.

Much of its better moments are from the good performance by the actors. It has surprisingly tender and sorrowful moments, all of which look genuine. This is not a well-orchestrated crime, yet it's incredibly shocking that the real person can maintain the act for so long. Raymond Cruz is a good cast for the role, he's often sickeningly brutal and easily becomes the fitting antagonist.

However, it does have some flaws. Several of the scenes try to depict the abuse, but they might feel heavy-handed in the approach. The camera is sometimes out of focus, it's probably intentional to induce realism, though it's a bit comfortable at times. The pace tends to screech a bit towards the second half despite the good intention of showing the aftermath or restrain for more gory moments. These don't take away the venerable effort to convey its message though.

Keeping the story grounded, it manages to tell the abusive story and its ramification with equal poise and intimate outlook.