Review of Prisoners (2013) by Prodigy2013 — 12 Oct 2013

One of the better entries into this year’s crowded fall season is ‘Prisoners’, and it will leave you on the edge of your seat. When a family man’s daughter and her friend go missing; he takes matters into his own hands while the police methodically pursue multiple leads.

It’s a rather conventional story that just happens to be very well told, and never short on legitimately tense and shocking moments. But it should be noted that this is not just gripping thriller, it’s also a dense drama.

It’s a drama so dense, that it easily came across as being too self serious; no thanks to those slightly excessive performances and the staggering runtime. In short, the film felt a bit overly dramatic.

Hugh Jackman stands out as a devout father who, through his desperation, acts on tense misguided emotions to search for his missing daughter. However, Jake Gyllenhaal, while good, doesn't benefit as much from the subtle excesses of his character.

He portrays a tattoo laden, eye twitching, heroic figure (in contrast to Jackman’s anti-heroic turn), who carefully leads the investigation for the missing girls. Director, Denis Villeneuve directs his actors consistently, and excels at constructing the tension that lingers throughout this chilly film.

Atmosphere is key when it comes to bleak thrillers such as this; and who better than, cinematographer, Roger Deakins to set the dreadful tone. His lenses which captures the grey days and pitch black nights, offset by the clear rain and white snow, adds nuance and a great degree pedigree to something that could have easily been a pedestrian project.

‘Prisoners’ looked great, and through its faults came some rewards; as the performance heavy approach and the solidity of its crime story kept me invested in the characters and truly engaged with the movie on a whole.

And what else can I say; its impressive ending didn't hurt one bit.