Ashley Smith's book "Unlikely Angel" gives an action edge to the new Christian-themed film "Captive" as it explores the real-life case of murderer Brian Nichols who took Smith hostage during a 2005 killing spree in Atlanta.
The movie, which stars A-listers David Oyelowo, of "Selma," and Kate Mara, of "House of Cards" and "Fantastic Four," details the encounter between Nichols and Smith while police were hunting for him, says the
Chicago Tribune. The movie is based on Smith's account.
In real life, Nichols set Smith free after she read portions of Rick Warren's "The Purpose Driven Life" to him.
"Both faith-based and fact-based, 'Captive' is a one-two punch of a crime thriller," wrote the Chicago Times' Colin Covert. "The film tries to be honest to Ashley Smith's uplifting memoir …"
Claritha Nichols, the mother of Brian Nichols, who was convicted of four murders after he turned himself in, according to
Variety, said she was thankful for Smith's efforts in sharing the spiritual book with her troubled son.
"Ashley showed him human kindness," Claritha Nichols said at the screening of the movie at the Sheen Center for Thought and Culture in New York City this week. "I thank her for talking to him, for helping him… and letting him know he needed to do the right thing and turn himself in."
Mara, who will also appear in the big-budget motion picture "The Martian" on Oct. 2, told the
Atlanta Journal-Constitution she was initially unaware of the events that rocked the area in 2005.
"When I read the script, I really wasn't familiar with the actual events that took place here," said Mara. "I jumped at the chance to play this woman who had quite the journey and has really come out of it. She was in a really bad place when that happened to her."
When she was abducted by Nichols, Smith was battling drug addiction and had lost her husband to drug-related violence.
"This was a situation where two people on a downward, deadly spiral found each other," said Oyelowo. "She gained a new life. She walked away from this drug that had held her captive for so long. Brian Nichols made different choices than he had earlier that day."
Related Stories:
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.