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Cast member Ryan Reynolds and his wife actress Blake Lively pose on the red carpet as they arrive for the screening of the film The Captivein competition at the 67th Cannes Film Festival in Cannes.BENOIT TESSIER/Reuters

Ryan Reynolds may have been  obligated to attend the Cannes screening of his new movie The Captive, but he chose not to participate in the after-party.

According to Us Weekly, the Canadian actor opted for a quiet late-night snack with wife Blake Lively after his new film was met with boos by some attendees at a press screening.

Directed by fellow Canadian Atom Egoyan, The Captive casts the Vancouver-born Reynolds as a father searching desperately for his abducted daughter.

In a relatively short period of time, The Captive has generated an inordinate volume of negative press, starting off with the Variety review describing it as "a ludicrous abduction thriller that finds a once-great filmmaker slipping into previously unentered realms of self-parody."

In similarly unflattering reviews, The Hollywood Reporter called The Captive "a lumbering thriller" in which Egoyan "renders an already bogus story more preposterous by lathering it in portentous solemnity."

The Guardian described The Captive as a "tangled and conceited mess."

The Globe and Mail's Liam Lacey, meanwhile, offered a more measured response of The Captive and suggested the withering reviews attacking the film were "overkill."

Following the movie's premiere, the cast and crew of The Captive immediately went to the film's scheduled after-party – with the conspicuous exception of Reynolds, who, according to Us Weekly, was spotted immediately after the premiere at the Hotel Martinez terrace restaurant with Lively.

Said an Us Weekly source: "Ryan definitely seemed a little on edge. Wouldn't be surprised if he skipped out on his party because the film is getting terrible reviews."

According to the same source, Reynolds spent most of his time at the restaurant "preoccupied on his cell phone," while his wife, who wore a Gucci strapless gown for the occasion, attempted to raise his spirits.

"It looked like Blake was trying to cheer him up a few times," said the source. "She rubbed his arm like she was consoling him and kept whispering into his ear."

Relax, Ryan. If your career could withstand The Green Lantern, it will survive this.

Editor's notes

A previous version of this article stated that the film The Captives was roundly booed at a premiere. In fact, it was met with some boos at a Cannes press screening.

This article has also been edited to reflect that actor Ryan Reynolds' itinerary for the evening in question remains unconfirmed.

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