Review of Prisoners (2013) by Foxgrove — 28 Sep 2013

After about 20 minutes Prisoners begins to feel like it is going to be another paint by numbers, seen it all before kidnap drama. However, the longer it goes on (and it is a long watch) the better it gets.

Subsequent twists, turns and genuine surprises of the extremely well constructed screenplay enables the movie to finally find its footing. The end result is a superior mystery thriller, even though a few questions do remain unanswered.

The performances contribute a great deal. There is no denying that Hugh Jackman is very good here but he is playing a rather dislike able character, even given the circumstances. His frequent rants tend to dissolve into monotone.

Jake Gyllenhaal is much better as the cop. With his constant eye tics and suspicious nature he is the true heart of what makes prisoners ultimately as good as it is. One constant irritation though, was the implausible fact that whenever he needed it no back up or help was anywhere to be seen.

Perfection, as they say, is in the detail.