Prisoners, 2013.
Directed by Denis Villeneuve.
Starring Hugh Jackman, Jake Gyllenhaal, Terrence Howard, Viola Davis, Maria Bello, Melissa Leo, and Paul Dano.
SYNOPSIS:
When Keller Dover’s daughter and her friend go missing, he takes matters into his own hands as the police pursue multiple leads and the pressure mounts. But just how far will this desperate father go to protect his family?
Prisoners stars Hugh Jackman as Keller Dover, a man whose daughter has been kidnapped along with her friend right in their own neighborhood. The number one suspect is a strange man named Alex Jones (Paul Dano), who is let go by the police after not having enough evidence to convict him. Keller is more than sure that Alex took the girls and he will stop at nothing to make Alex tell him where they are. Meanwhile the detective working the case, Detective Loki (Jake Gyllenhaal), must search all possible suspects while at the same time make sure Keller doesn’t do something drastic that they all will regret.
It doesn’t take a lot to put together a competent thriller. Have a decent story, some good performances and hopefully a decent director behind the camera. Prisoners manages to get all that right and then some. Director Denis Villeneuve crafts a tight-knit film that keeps you on the edge of your seat waiting for the final outcome. The story here is good and manages to keep you guessing right up until the final scene. This is a beautifully shot film and the cinematography here is fantastic, something that will hopefully be acknowledged come award season.
Like I mentioned before it helps to have some good performances and here we get a few great ones. The supporting cast do their part, including the likes of Terrence Howard, Maria Bello, Viola Davis and Melissa Leo, and what are essentially the three main leads here all give fantastic performances. Paul Dano gives a quiet yet outstanding performance that is easily one of his best yet, and Jake Gyllenhaal delivers one of the finest supporting performances of the year. However, even with a fantastic supporting cast the entire film works off the brilliance of Hugh Jackman. Jackman has steadily improved his acting over the years and with this performance he has surpassed anything he has previously done in his career.
There isn’t much else you could say about Prisoners except how good of a film it manages to be. Even with a running time that might be just a little too long and a third act that feels a little rushed, the film is right up there as one of the best of the year.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★ ★
Jake Peffer
Originally published February 3, 2014. Updated April 11, 2018.
