riveting thriller

Rating: 8/10 (11 November 2013)

Prisoners is marked by very strong performances and many moral/religious complexities. The story brings basically many ethical and moral questions: what would you do to protect your family? Would you torture someone to detract information? Jackman juggles these moral queries in an emotionally gripping performance. In Keller you have the tortured father who could not protect his child. In Loki you have the guardian of a community who has sworn to protect and serve. It's not surprising to see such religiosity in a film of incredible and uncompromising darkness. Villeneuve makes everything work, with an experience stimulating on an emotional and spiritual level. Thrillers like this should be embraced. Prisoners proves compelling, thanks also to the subject matter that practically demands emotional investment from an audience: children in peril. The film's pace is an endurance test, an excessive 2 and a half hours runtime but everyone gets to share in the dread of the final revelations. Does the end justify the means? All in all it's rare to find a film that really works on all levels, but that's exactly what Denis Villeneuve's and his cast have constructed with Prisoners.