Bait and Switch

Rating: 6/10 (25 September 2013)

Prisoners offers itself as a "thriller" that transcends the genre, but the hype is a con job. It's too slow-paced to generate real gut level excitement, too logically flawed for the intellectual appeal it strives for. Naturally, there's an emotional reaction to the chilling theme of child abduction. That along with the overall quality of the filmmaking will briefly create the impression that this is serious stuff. The rambunctious performance of Hugh Jackman as the semi-civilized father of the abducted child and fine performances across the board, notably Jack Gyllenhaal as the detective, will also earn some admiration. But the notion that this is a great movie is a fleeting illusion. This movie will be soon forgotten.
Taken, the Liam Neelson thriller, wanted simply to rescue a daughter in dire distress, and does so in wildly entertaining fashion. Prisoners wants to explore the nature of morality in an extreme situation, such as when the life of one's child is on the line. Good concept. I wish it had succeeded, but it doesn't. It wants to be thought-provoking, but it's a straw-man argument of a movie. No one, all things considered, condones the conduct of the child's father—not because it's violent, but because it's ineffectual. Dad is throwing a tantrum that's an obstacle to the success of the mission. That becomes apparent almost immediately. Prisoners demonstrates the futility of violence by contrivance. It's scripted to be futile.
Two little girls are abducted while their families are at a Thanksgiving get-together. Hugh Jackman's character, a gun totting suburban survivalist (I've got several of them on my block okay, don't believe me.), who has little patience with the authority's effort to solve the case. Outraged when the police release a promising suspect—a young man with the "mind of a ten year old"—he goes vigilante on the guy and imprisons him in an abandoned building. Using his fists and a scalding shower, he is relentless in his efforts to get a confession from a pathetic masochist who doesn't have much to say. Oh well, let's give it one more day. One more left hook One more hot shower
Meanwhile, check out what's in the basement of a disgraced former priest? Is that a clue? Who cares? Solving the mystery isn't what this is all about. If standard police procedure would have found the kids (or their bodies)in the first act, then let's not get bogged down with standard police procedure. Who's got time to trail a suspect and conduct searches. Someone is trying to offer insight into the human condition here, not mere entertainment. Such lofty ambition, only to lose sight of the job at hand.
What we get is bait and switch.
The ending is either a moral cop-out or a clever gimmick. You get to choose the fate of the central character, based on whether you think dad is a hero or a demon.