MovieChat Forums > Captive (2015) Discussion > Drug usage?

Drug usage?

posted 10 years ago by SinisterTwist
4 replies | jump to latest

Does anyone know if they're going to bring in that Ashley Smith was a drug user and had also placated Nichols with some meth? I got the impression that she used the meth to calm him down and then read to him from Purpose Driven Life, since he was presumably more receptive.

http://www.nbcnews.com/id/9505849/ns/us_news-life/t/shooting-suspects-hostage-i-gave-him-meth/#.VbE3JvlViko

I hope that they do, since that's what makes the whole story a little better, a little more real, since she got off of drugs afterwards. It was supposedly a pretty big wakeup for her, so the book worked for her just as much as it did for Nichols. Them removing this element just to pretty everything up for Hollywood would just make everything more cheap and artificial. Here's this awesome quote from the above article:

"Smith, a 27-year-old widowed mother who gained widespread praise for her level-headedness, says the seven-hour hostage ordeal in March led to the realization that she was a drug addict, and she says she has not used drugs since the night before she was taken captive."

I mean, to remove the drugs would remove so much heart from the story.

[–] SinisterTwist 10 years ago

By this I mean, will the movie show that she was an active drug user and not one that was clean. They already seem like they've glossed over Nichols to a degree, as to my knowledge he never said that the reason for his escape was because of his son (implied in the trailer). It always seemed like he just didn't want to go to prison.

I'm just worried that in trying to make everyone seem nicer, they're going to hurt the really wonderful true story behind everything.

[–] Lady_Elaine_Fairchild 9 years ago

She says she had the drugs she chopped them up for him but made the decision then and there not to use....

Those who surrender freedom for security will not have, nor do they deserve, either one. B. Franklin

[–] AceRoccola 9 years ago

I'm curious about this as well. Especially wondering if they include the bit where she gives him the drugs and show how that influences the chain of events.

Smith and the media made a big deal about the fact that she read her captor some pop-Christian guidebook and that it miraculously convinced him to set her free. What they tend to not want to address is how being high on meth may have played the larger part in this decision.

[–] goonies383 9 years ago

Yes the movie shows she was an active user and gave some to Brian Nichols and that she refuse to take it from then on as well. The trailer for the film is very misleading on what the film actually focuses on.