Review of Prisoners (2013) by Jesse S — 05 Jan 2015

Have you ever considered what you would do, or how far you would go to protect your family? What could you be capable of doing to ensure the safety of your loved ones? Prisoners is a film that pushes the boundaries of moralistic values, it crosses a line that we hope to never have to cross in a situation we pray we never have to be in.

Keller Dover played by Hugh Jackman (Wolverine, Les Misérables) and his wife Grace played by Maria Bello(Payback, The Secret Window) attend a Thanksgiving dinner at the home of their neighbours Franklin played by Terrence Howard (Iron Man, Hustle & Flow) and Nancy Birch played by Viola Davis (How to get away with murder, The Help). Their 2 young daughters, Anna and Joy go outside to play but never return. An investigation is launched with Detective Loki played by Jake Gyllenhaal (Nightcrawler, Brokeback Mountain)arresting the prime suspect being a young man with the IQ of a ten year old whose RV was spotted where the young girls were last seen. As time drags on and the girls remain missing slowly desperation sets in and Keller decides to take matters into his own hands.... Once again I want to say so much about the plot but if I do I'd be breaking my own rules and giving away so much.

The plot is so interesting, I loved it, I loved the way the story in its entirety was played out, and I loved the characters and how well they were played. Hugh Jackman proves once again why he is so sought after in the film industry he was so convincing as the desperate father I'm surprised there was no Oscar buzz about his performance. Not only Hugh though, his fellow cast members were just as engaging and hypnotic. A perfect cast in my opinion. Jake Gyllenhaal (who did win Best Supporting Actor of the Year Award at the 2013 Hollywood Film Festival) was mesmerising with his character as well. The other stand out feature for me though was the cinematography it was amazing and really feel it helped the story teller tell his amazing tale; once again I was extremely impressed by the visuals. I don't really know the director Denis Villeneuve's other works but I can tell he is a man of talent and I'll be looking him up to see what else he has done.

Prisoners will leave you feeling desperate and curious, running at a little under 3hrs it does take its toll as well, I'm not sure it really needed to be that long but for the outcome it does work and you hardly notice the time. The film is very disturbing in nature, has some very graphic scenes so not one for the kids. Be prepared for a magical ride with this one it'll have you'll be running a full gauntlet of emotions and I'm so glad to say the twists and turns the film takes throughout only make it so much better.