Enthralling, shocking, exciting, it tugs heartstrings, prompts inner rage & questions one's scruples.

Rating: 8/10 (24 September 2013)

The trailer for Prisoners is yet another example of Hollywood giving far too much away. Usually it implies a poor film with the funniest/most shocking moments spliced together because the distributors know the film is substandard and are terrified the film will bomb. So why on earth did they feel the need to give away so much in the Prisoners trailer?
Prisoners is just a few plot holes away from being a ten star film. It is enthralling, shocking, exciting, it tugs heartstrings, it prompts inner rage, it questions one's scruples, it is the cause of much thought and heated discussions. Prisoners is a very fine film indeed and the best thriller we've seen on the big screen for many months. The summer blockbuster period is officially over and cinema just got down and dirty again!
Keller and Grace Dover (Hugh Jackman and Maria Bello) and their children join friends Franklin and Nancy Birch (Terrence Howard and Viola Davis) for Thanksgiving. After lunch the parents do their thing, the two older children escape to the basement and the two youngest, Anna Dover (Erin Gerasimovich) and Joy Birch (Kyla Drew Simmons) head out to the quiet road to play. When they don't return, abduction is assumed and panic and suspicion set in. The cops are called, headed by Detective Loki (Jake Gyllenhaal), and the finger is pointed directly at Alex Jones (Paul Dano). When the police release Jones due to a complete lack of evidence, Keller declares him guilty and takes matters into his own hands.
Prisoners kicks into full thriller mode from the outset. The tension is ramped up with finely directed early scenes and a subtle score (from Jóhann Jóhannsson). Though it occasionally stutters, the obvious 'jump' in the basement failing miserably (fortunately!), it picks at the nerves for the full two-hour plus running time. It's not a film that makes the viewer leap out of one's skin, but niggles unpleasantly as it ask multiple questions: Is he/isn't he guilty? What happened? What does it mean? Does the end justify the means? How far is too far? What would YOU do to protect your children?
Director Denis Villeneuve (Incendies) has cleverly stitched together a film that is often too close to reality for comfort and looks at issues that fill our newspapers. Take the case of Keith Bennett, the Moors Murderers' fourth victim. His body was never recovered and his mother died without being able to bury her son. Given the opportunity, would she have been justified in having a week alone the Myra Hindley and Liam Brady to find the truth of his whereabouts? The ordeal suffered by Christopher Jefferies, vilified and proclaimed guilty by the press and public, simply for looking 'odd', is also too fresh in our minds to be ignored as we watch Jones' suffering. Subtler is the prospect of ambiguity; just as Derek Bentley was hanged for his equivocal cry of "Let him have it!", does the alleged utterance from Jones, "They only cried when I left them." have only one interpretation?
The performances throughout Prisoners are from the top drawer, and the actors have been gifted realistically written roles. The four parents have not merely been crafted to satisfy a particular stereotypical reaction, rather we are presented with understandable reactions. In Keller it is a desperate rage at his own impotence to protect his family and Jackman is flawless in his violence and despair. His actions are never acceptable but the way Keller is written and performed allows us to care deeply and consequently I'm sure there are many, many viewers who would turn a blind eye or even outwardly condone his methods.
Though Jackman's Keller is the showier role here, Howard gives a very measured performance as the other father who has a firmer grasp of his morals though still floundering at the loss of his daughter. Equally, Bello's Grace is perhaps even easier to identify with as she crumples and enters a voluntary stasis, unable even to shower and change let alone control her emotions. Bello depicts a mother so distraught her ability to function abandons her.
Davis is short changed; her Nancy brings a steely decisiveness to the table but she is given too little screen time for us to fully engage with. Gyllenhaal is the solid character in Prisoners that we can look to for balance. We don't really see what makes him tick but that is a plus point here; how many detectives arrive on the scene with the life stories laid out for us? Loki is there to do a job, solve a crime and remain as emotionally detached as possible. It is a creditable performance to add to Gyllenhaal's every-growing list.
Unsurprisingly, Dano is excellent as the 'freak' who clearly 'must' be dangerous simply by dint of looking odd and being educationally subnormal. Dano has few peers in Hollywood and has cornered the market in oddball roles and there's a very good reason why: He's superb. Likewise, Melissa Leo as Jones' aunt, Holly, is perfect. Leo is a true chameleon of the screen. Enough said. Just watch her.
Post-film, my companion for the evening and I debated heatedly the moral issues and how many parents may stoop to such extreme measures given cause. We agreed to differ though the questions remain. Our agreement was entire regarding the quality of Prisoners as a film, however. I can't mention the flaws without destroying the film but there are unresolved matters, unrealistic scenarios and lazy devices that keep Prisoners short of perfection. But it remains a very powerful film that, if it's intention is to leave the viewer wondering what kind of man/woman they are, succeeds admirably.
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