 After the release of the West Memphis Three from 18 years in prison, Egoyan directed a movie about the case called "Devil's Knot" (2013) starring Reese Witherspoon and Colin Firth, based on a book, "" by Mara Leveritt.His next feature, "The Captive" (2014), starred Ryan Reynolds and screened in competition for the Palme d'Or at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival, where it received largely negative reviews from critics.Justin Chang from "Variety" described the film as "a ludicrous abduction thriller that finds a once-great filmmaker slipping into previously un-entered realms of self-parody."