Very Good: 8.5

Rating: 8/10 (28 July 2019)

Prisoners is not a film that you leave saying "that was a good time." After a few minutes of tranquility, it becomes relentlessly bleak, quickly making the leap from a nice Thanksgiving dinner to detective work, torture, and suicide in a disturbingly deft fashion. Prisoners reminded me of the old David Fincher films, of the ilk of Fight Club and Se7en, with gradually unraveling plotlines told through cold and subdued cinematography. In a few ways, this is really just another thriller; a multitude of shots of people frantically hurrying about, and an antagonist's motivation that comes off as laughable. But there are plenty of movies that put tired cliches to good use, and Prisoners is one of them. In spite of all this, there is a handful of great performances at work, with Jackman in particular portraying a man barely holding on with chilling efficacy. It's not without its share of blemishes, and plays it a bit too safe in its depiction of the subject matter, but Prisoners is a dread-inducing, pure thriller with enough twists and turns to satisfy.