An Intricate Thriller of Emotional & Moral Complexities.

Rating: Null/10 (24 December 2013)

From the director of Incendies & Polytechnique, Prisoners is a very tensely crafted cinematic maze of intense emotions & moral complexities which with the help of its clever plot, intricate script, strong religious themes, ensemble cast & stellar performances creates a darkly disturbing & grim atmosphere of uncertainty that looms over its story from start to finish.
It tells the story of Keller Dover, who is a deeply religious man & believes in being prepared for the worst at all times. But one day when his daughter & her friend go missing and the police fails to make any breakthroughs for days, Keller takes matters into his own hands & sets out to find his daughter by targeting the prime suspect for information before it's too late.
Denis Villeneuve's direction here carries the very riddles & moral complications of his previous works and these elements eventually end up playing a major role in shaping up the whole experience of this film. Roger Deakins' cinematography is another standout as the entire film has a dark & mysterious ambiance enveloping it & even the sequences filmed in minimum light are able to retain a crisp clarity.
Coming to the performances, Prisoners has a pretty reliable cast but it's Hugh Jackman & Jake Gyllenhaal who end up impressing the most. Jackman plays Keller Dover; the grief-stricken father of the missing girl, & delivers an emotionally charged performance. But he is constantly challenged by Gyllenhaal who delivers a knockout performance as Detective Loki; the officer spearheading this perplexing case.
On an overall scale, Prisoners is a labyrinth of moral & ethical ambiguities represented through the degeneration of an immensely faithful & God-fearing person into a remorseless sinner, all exhibited in a darkly compelling manner, and it's also an interesting focus on the devastating change an event like the one depicted in this film can bring in any parent out there. Multiple viewings advised