There are times when a trailer can really sell you on a film, where it draws you in and makes you so interested in seeing the film that it jumps up to the top of your must see list. However, there are a few occasions where a trailer gives so much away that you start to question whether it's even worth watching the movie. Detained fell into this latter category for me, as the trailer gives a pretty substantial twist away; however, the film makes what would be a big reveal in most movies into something that's just seat up for the real meat of the story.
Detained tells the story of Rebecca Kamen (Abbie Cornish), who wakes up in what most people would see as a terrible situation. Coming to consciousness inside a run down police station, she learns that she has been arrested after an accident that happened when she was driving when drunk. Having no memory of the incident Rebecca is stunned as the fierce Detective Moon (Moon Bloodgood) berates her, demands answers, and treats her like a criminal. Her only beacon of hope seems to be Avery (Laz Alonso), Moon's partner who is a voice of calm reason, and who seems to want to believe Rebecca's story.
As the day wears on, however, Rebecca begins to feel like things aren't quite adding up. The police station seems ill equipped and half empty, apparently due to renovations. Her usual lawyer is unavailable and she's sent a bumbling replacement. Then comes the twist that changes everything, Rebecca learns that she's not been arrested, and that she's instead been taken hostage by a group of con artists who want her money. With the scam dropped Rebecca must find a way to survive her imprisonment and escape the dangerous gang with her life.
Usually I wouldn't reveal a piece of the plot as big as 'the police are fake', but as this is the main plot of the film that happens twelve minutes in and it's shown off in the trailer I feel that it's fairly safe to discuss here. It's also this twist that makes the film much more interesting, as it changes Rebecca's character from a timid, frightened woman on the backfoot, to someone who's actively fighting for her survival. The shift is great, and Cornish plays it well, with a quiet intensity behind her eyes in most scenes.
Laz Alonso's Avery is perhaps the most interesting character in the film, and Alonso gets to play a number of different roles with him. He makes for a believable good natured cop, he's suitably menacing when things take a shift, and as the film progresses and things begin to unravel around him he begins to have a manic energy that makes him quite frightening at times. He makes for a decent foil for Cornish to play against, and his role here is so different from his time on The Boys (the thing he's probably most known for) that those coming here to see him will likely enjoy his performance.
Detained tries to do a lot with a little. the vast majority of the film is set in one location, with a small group of characters. The script doesn't call for anything big or flashy, and most of the film is people talking, yet despite this it managed to keep me entertained throughout. Yes, I could see some twists and turns in the story coming before they happened, and none of the characters have much depth to them beyond the archetype they're portraying, but things are assembled well enough that the movie never overstays its welcome.
With a lot of mid to low budget movies on the market it can be hard to know which films to take a punt on, and you might initially be reticent to do so with Detained thanks to the fact that the film seems to give away a big plot point very early on, but it's been better than a fair few movies I've seen over the last year, and whilst it's not going to be on any of my top movie lists it's definitely one that I'd say people should try.
Detained is available on UK digital platforms 30th December 2024