It'll keep you in your seat, till the end; great performances

Rating: 8/10 (18 November 2013)

The subject matter is one that some might consider overdone, since there have been several movies with the theme of child abduction in recent years, but you don't want to miss this one, because it is so well done and the performances are flawless. The directing and script were a very pleasant surprise to me. Unfamiliar with director Denis Villneuve, whose rating for his previous feature film, Incendies, was outstanding, I now know I'll have to see that one as well as the one that followed, Enemy, also starring Jake Gyllenhaal.
The movie starts by placing you in a certain comfort zone with Keller Dover bonding with his son Ralph, respectively played by Hugh Jackman and Dylan Minnette, on their return from a hunting trip; they then join Grace and Erin, mother and daughter, wife and sister played by Maria Bello and Erin Gerasimovich, for a Thanksgiving dinner at their neighbor friends' house. The second couple Franklin and Nancy, the Birch, played by Terrence Howard and Viola Davis and their daughters Eliza and Joy, played by Zoe Borde and Kyla Drew Simmons respectively, are indeed friendly neighbors; they make interracial relationships appealing and seem as normal as it should be (something too seldom mentioned). This will be the only relaxed moment you'll experience, before the drama starts to unfold. Joy and Erin go missing; we can only guess how and when, but that guess may be one of the few you'll get right. The director will smartly leave you with your safe guess as the details are not revealed and need not be.
The drama will take you down a few dead ends, to keep you on your toes; and you'll be made to experience the parents frustration with a few of your own, all in the process of keeping you very interested in the next development. With the likes of the actors in this cast, how could you not expect good performances? You get them, and not one character is cliché, especially detective Loki, played brilliantly by Jake Gyllenhaal. You will be torn by the dilemma 'doing the right thing' vs natural 'instinct' I know most will feel with the performance of H. Jackman, whose character goes beyond wishful thinking on the audience's part. If that wasn't enough, a series of suspects, all despicable but non aggressive will have you spinning with anxious anticipation. Who really abducted the girls, was it a loner or a dark sect, what was the motive if not what first comes to mind (which you'll get wrong by the way).
This movie is so well done that the mere expression on Loki's face in the last seconds, before the screen goes to black, tells you immediately what the final outcome is, and you're smartly left to fill in the details to your heart's content. Simply brilliant; you'll be encouraging your friends to see it. I do.