An intense thriller that will keep you guessing.

Rating: 9/10 (26 September 2013)

Prisoners is the rare mainstream rated R mystery film that we hardly get from Hollywood anymore. It features an All-Star cast led by Hugh Jackman and Jake Gyllenhaal. Prisoners is an intense thriller that keeps the viewer guessing and never feels contrived.
Prisoners is directed by relative newcomer Denis Villeneuve who handles the star-studded cast and the heavy subject matter like a director who has a lengthy filmography of well-crafted films. The film is well paced and expertly structured. Although Prisoners is two and a half hours long, it never seems to lag. Villeneuve elevates the story and characters so it doesn't feel like an episode of one of the many "whodunnit" TV shows that pollute our airwaves.
Hugh Jackman plays Keller Dover, a blue collar survivalist who has been preparing his entire life for the worst. When his daughter is kidnapped, it's something he could never have prepared for and he doesn't know how to deal with it. Feeling like he's let his family down and that the police aren't doing enough to find his daughter, Keller takes matters into his own hands and kidnaps the recently released suspect who he is certain knows more about what happened to his daughter and her friend who was also kidnapped.
Jake Gyllenhaal plays Detective Loki, a passionate investigator who has solved every case he's ever worked on. Detective Loki's past is never explained, but he sports neck and hand tattoos hinting that he might have had a turbulent past. Loki also has a nervous twitch of the eyes that gets worse as the film progresses and the pressure begins to mount.
It's understandable considering Detective Loki has to deal with an indifferent police captain, a grieving father who has gone rogue and a mysterious case that seems to get weirder with each clue.
The rest of the cast is rounded out by Maria Bello, who plays Dover's wife. She's not given a whole lot to do here and spends much of the film in a state of sedation. Terrence Howard and Viola Davis play friends of the Dover's whose daughter was also kidnapped. They play the moral conscience to Keller as he starts going to extremes to get information about the whereabouts of the lost girls.
Paul Dano, who is making a career of playing creepy crazy characters, plays Alex Jones, a mentally handicapped loner that is suspected of kidnapping the young girls. He plays the character with perfect balance. One second you want to bash his head in and the next you feel bad for him and can't help but feel he's being wrongly accused.
Prisoners deals with the theme of religion very heavily. Characters are seen saying the Our Father and crucifixes can be seen dangling from rear view mirrors or hanging on walls. There are also themes of vengeance, resolution, justice.
The other part of the film that stands out is the cinematography by legendary cinematographer Roger Deakins who has been nominated for 10 Oscars for films such as Skyfall, Shawshank Redemption, True Grit, Doubt, No Country for Old Men and A Beautiful Mind just to name a few. Deakins cloaks the film in a blanket of gloom. Every scene seems to be cloudy and rainy. Every frame is saturated with looming despair.
After a summer of caped crusaders, furious cars, Brad Pitt hating zombies, giant robots and really lonely rangers, Prisoners is perfect for anybody looking for a serious film experience. Prisoners delivers an intense thriller that includes great performances from some of the better actors working today. Including a career best performance for Jackman with a possible Oscar nomination on the horizon. For me, Prisoners is up there with recent mystery films like Mystic River, Gone Baby Gone and Zodiac.