White-hot tension, incredible directing, flawless performances, Prisoners is incredible

Rating: Null/10 (27 December 2014)

Prisoners stars Hugh Jackman, Jake Gyllenhaal and a lot of other amazingly talented actors, it is directed by Dennis Villeneuve and it's an incredible nail-biting thriller, and probably one of the best film of 2013. Too bad it didn't get recognized as much as it deserved.
The film starts at a Thanksgiving dinner between friends Keller Dover(spectacularly portrayed by Hugh Jackman) and Franklin Birch (Terrence Howard, great job as well) and their respective families. They each have 2 children, the youngest of which are mysteriously kidnapped when they go play outside. Both families call the authorities of course and desperately search for their children, Keller's older son mentions an RV who was parked in the street the first time the kids went to play. The police find the man, who is Alex Jones(Paul Dano), a person with the mentality of a 10-year-old. He is interrogated by Detective Loki (brilliant Jake Gyllenhaal is brilliant) who begins to think he had nothing to do with the abduction. Keller on the other hand is sure that Alex knows where the kids are, and decides to take matters in his own hands, and ends up doing lots of illegal, horrible and cruel things.
The acting in the movie is perfect, no one in the entire movie portrays their character badly, they were really all amazing, with extra extra props to Hugh Jackman, who gives a phenomenal performance, the best I've ever seen from him, he starts off as a good man, but when his daughter is kidnapped he just loses it and descends into darkness so to speak. An ironic thing in the movie (it's on purpose of course) is that he is a very religious man, and when the credits roll he has committed so many sins it's mind-blowing that a guy could go so far, even with the good reason behind his actions. There are some scenes that Jackman just flips his s***, and it's so damn realistic! Oscar worthy is an understatement. Jake Gyllenhaal is incredible in the movie as well, I mean this guy is always brilliant, come on, he also feels so real in the movie, you feel his frustration due to not being able to find the kids, he is pretty much what I expect a real detective to be like and he's the only moral character in the movie. The supporting cast is also great, Maria Bello, Terrence Howard, especially Paul Dano, he was incredible.
The story is very smart, it's pretty much a puzzle, you don't know what is the truth, you can only speculate using what you were given, it deals with heavy subjects though, so it is not for the faint of heart at all. The director managed to create a incredible dread- filled atmosphere, using the heavy rain and the icy winter, it all contributes to creating the sinister mood of the film, top-notch directing and cinematography. The suspense just keeps piling up until the finale, which is one of the best endings I've seen.
The film's question is "how far are you willing to go in order to save your child?", and that's what Dover is doing, and holy nuts does he go far. He does have a good reason, it's true of course, but he ends up doing things that are too unjustifiable, even with the events that drove him to do them. And that makes for a great picture.
Prisoners is a very intense film, I found it pretty hard to watch, especially in the heavy scenes, if you're easily shaken, don't watch this film, it's incredible, but it's the kind of film that's despite being great, you don't want to watch again, I mean I was cringing a bit with clenched fists while I watched it, on the edge of my seat of course. It is very intriguing and smart, if you can stomach it, I recommend this movie for sure, it is flawless.