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★★
Written and Directed by: Ross Aitken and James Browning
Starring: Daniel Curshen, Genna Foden, Ross F Sutherland, Ray Whelan, Tom Bonington
Indie Film Review by: Hannah Sayer
With a tagline describing the film as “A Black Comedy about Sex, Lies and Gaffer Tape”,
Ross Aitken and James Browning’s Kidnap Me follows a couple trying to keep the spark alive in their relationship through experimenting with their sex life. From swinging to dogging, this couple try it all and along the way things get awry.
Kidnap Me opens with a couple in a predicament, which at first seems to be completely of their own doing. Ben, played by Daniel Curshen, has booked a ‘Luxury Kidnap Experience’ for his girlfriend Charlie’s birthday, played by Genna Foden. However, what at first seemed like a planned encounter soon reveals itself to have more sinister implications. While they are tied up in the present day, flashbacks are interspersed throughout the narrative, which explore the bizarre sexual undertakings the couple have taken part in during the week. These interactions escalate until the couple find themselves in the situation they are now in.
The majority of the film takes place within the house they are tied up in, as the couple consider what is happening and then eventually try to escape. The film highlights how these characters are unable to separate real life from fantasy as even when they are in danger it is still fulfilling their fantasy and they are unsure whether to take what is happening as real or imagined. The alarming situation they find themselves in predictably causes the couple to make a decision about how they feel about one another and decide whether they need to change the way they have been living their lives. Relationship problems are highlighted which further reinforces that this masquerade is one way in which this couple are both hiding from the truth about what they really want from one another.
The comedic timing feels off throughout the film and the novelty begins to wear off quite quickly. Its raunchy and daring exploration of sexuality and desire is one of the more intriguing aspects of the film, yet many of the bizarre events and interactions between the couple which take place result in the comedic elements often bordering on becoming parody.
Overall, Daniel Curshen and Genna Foden have good chemistry in their roles as this couple attempting to reignite the passion in their relationship, but the film is lacking in substance.
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