Prisoners (2013)
Certified: 15
Duration: 153 minutes
Directed by: Denis Villeneuve
Starring: Hugh Jackman, Jake Gyllenhaal, Viola Davis, Maria Bello, Terrence Howard, Melissa Leo, Paul Dano, Dylan Minnette, Zoe Borde, Erin Gerasimovich, Kyla Drew Simmons
KRS release
Hugh Jackman is ex-military serviceman Keller Dover who works as a carpenter and lives in Pennsylvania with his wife Grace (Maria Bello) and his children: teenager Ralph (Dylan Minnette) and young Anna (Erin Gerasimovich).
He is very religious and life seems good. However, on Thanksgiving Day, his life turns upside down. He and his family go to the house of the Birch family, his neighbours, made up of Franklin and Nancy (Terrence Howard and Viola Davis) and their children Eliza (Zoe Soul), who is a teenager, and girl Joy (Kyla Drew Simmons).
Trouble starts when the two small girls go to Anna’s house to play and never get there. After a vain search for the girls, they start to suspect that Alex Jones (Paul Dano), a young man who has an RV, may be involved in their disappearance.
On the scene arrives Detective Loki (Jake Gyllenhaal) who says that he will do all that is possible to find the missing children. Alex is taken into custody but when it is discovered he has the IQ of a 10-year-old and no evidence of the crime is found, he is set free. He is placed under the care of his aunt Holly (Melissa Leo) who lives in a secluded part of the town.
Keller is however convinced that Alex is the reason behind the children’s disappearance and so he abducts him and starts to torture him in order to get the information he wants. Meanwhile, Detective Loki finds new suspects and realises that he has to push the envelope of morality if he is to solve this case.
Under the direction of Canadian director Denis Villeneuve, Prisoners is a taut thriller that is also an intricate character study and very realistic. The environment gives off a feeling of authenticity, the characters do believable things and the film makes it a point not to take the obvious route in the way the storylines are resolved.
It is a dark film both in its vision and also in its moral lines. Yet you will feel that you have to pay attention to every detail as the script is intricate and structured in such a manner as to leave you hanging on to every word that is uttered and every clue given.
Prisoners is also an intricate character study and very realistic
This is boosted by incredible performances by an all-star cast, especially by Jackman and Gyllenhaal. I was particulary impressed by Jackman, who fits the shoes of a working-class man so well. The film goes deep into his character’s mind, especially when he abducts Alex and starts his own torture to get what he wants.
The supporting cast is also worth noting, with Melissa Leo delivering a stand-out performance. However, it’s not just the words but rather the way she delivers them that give her performance such an edge.
All in all, Prisoners has little of the Hollywood relief that one usually finds in thrillers and its characters are neither slick nor cool, but it definitely can leave its mark on you.