Riveting thriller with blinding performances

Rating: 9/10 (7 August 2014)

I've just watched this having rented it. Wow. What an excellent thriller.
On reading the sleeve I almost didn't bother as at over two and a half hours long, I didn't think it would keep my interest. How wrong I was.
The plot centres around two young girls being kidnapped, and the efforts the police and the families make to try to find them. This brief description however gives no indication of the tension that builds throughout the film, the superb acting and great directing.
I'm not a huge fan of Hugh Jackman as a rule. It's not that I don't like him, it's just that he doesn't appear in films that generally appeal to me. However I'm prepared to eat my words for this film. His acting was first rate. Jake Gyllenhaal on the other hand has always been a favourite of mine right since the incredible Donnie Darko, and here he proves just how good he is.
I have to admit, that great though these both were, and fine supporting from everyone else, the person who stood out - although his part was relatively small - was Paul Dano. His acting is quite exemplary.
The film itself does not seem long at all, indeed as the final stages approach, it travels at quite a pace and is edge of seat stuff.
Well worth a watch and possibly one of the very best thrillers I've seen for quite some time. A cut above.