'Prisoners' takes none in a disturbing and utterly compelling story of masculine ordeal, religious conviction and exigent moral dilemmas in the face of child abduction.

Rating: 8/10 (1 November 2013)

The two main protagonists – played by Jake Gylenhaal and Hugh Jackman – are two men who see it as a moral imperative, as men, to protect others. 'Prisoners' confidently examines the consequences of their failure to do so when two young girls are abducted; and they are subsequently faced against an adversary they don't quite know how to handle.
The screenplay pits a masculine sense of duty to protect one's child against religious, societal and moral forbearance. Then we watch the consequences of this fascinating clash. When blue collar patriot, religious man; and failing carpenter Keller Dover – played by Hugh Jackman – has his daughter abducted, this all American alpha father channels his inner Wolverine rage and decides to take the law into his own hands. In an attempt to find his abducted daughter, and her abducted friend, he sets out on a crusade to terrorize information from Paul Dano's mentally challenged character; whom he firmly believes is responsible for the kidnapping.
Even though you got the sense that Jackman goes Oscar hunting, the real stand out is Jake Gyllenhaal; in an incredibly understated but subtlety complex performance as Detective Loki; the officer in charge of the case to find the missing girls. This is familiar ground for Gylenhaal, after the likes of 'Zodiac', and 'End of Watch', but he finds new depths and makes this character completely independent from any film has appeared in before. He is by far the most compelling character. Like the way Detective Loki pays attention to the details when trying to solve the mystery, we to, as an audience, have to pay attention to the details. Notice the recurring blinking of his eyes, or the moments of brutality he enforces. There are also brief glimpses of tattoos; that all add depth and mystery to a character with a past only ever curiously alluded to.
We are treated to the simple but effective direction of Clint Eastwood and the chilling thrills and revelations of David Fincher. Canadian Denis Villeneuve – in his American debut – is a director prepared to use a tripod, and rely on the simple grace of the close-up and all the drama it brings. Roger Deakins gives the film a burdening sense of dread through his atmospherically beautiful cinematography; that lends itself fittingly to a dark story about the loss of innocence. He is truly one of the best DP's working today.
The snow and ice of North America is used an awful lot as a backdrop for murder mystery thrillers; but it is a genre trope I embrace. It never fails to highlight the ice cold brutality of the story. Almost as if there were some correlation between our unrelenting natural world, and the killers/abductors that dwell in it.
And 'Prisoners' is as cold as it gets. This is a dark and violent story. If that puts you off, it should be known that the violence never feels pointless, or exploitative, and it is handled in good taste to perfectly serve the story. A well played reveal of the physical abuse that a victim of torture receives is now ingrained in my mind.
'Zodiac', 'The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo', 'Mystic River' and the recent 'The Frozen Ground' are all similar genre films; and 'Prisoners' is up there with the best of them. It's slow burning; playing for over 150 minutes. But only by taking its time, are we allowed to immerse ourselves and get invested in the investigation and characters. It's not a perfect movie by any means; but a great one? sure. It's one of the best mystery thrillers I can remember seeing over the last few years.
You might get lost in this maze of a movie; but you have to play detective to keep up. Deduce all you want, but this was a mystery I could not solve; and the grand revelation I really did not see coming. I can appreciate a movie that manages to successfully manipulate me into thinking that the answer is in that chest, when in fact it was another. We twist and turn through a morally complex abyss, full of religious symbolism, engaging characters; mystery and shock value.
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