Hugh Jackman is reborn in this suspense-riddled thriller.

Rating: 9/10 (18 November 2013)

Prisoners, 2013.
One of my pet hates is when people see or hear one bad review about a movie and automatically write it off without a second thought. It's amazing how "Sheep-like" we've all become in recent years. Most likely due to social media, where one person will post a status rubbishing a movie.
Hugh Jackman (Keller Dover) and Jake Gyllenhaal (Detective Loki) star in this epic drama/thriller directed by Denis Villeneuve. Set in Pennsylvania, Dover runs a small carpentry business and maintains a deeply religious life. The plot begins when 2 young girls are abducted from the family's Thanksgiving dinner, one of whom is Dover's girl. Gyllenhaal plays the hard-working local detective with the "never say die" attitude, full of late nights, no sleep, plenty of coffee and provides the "won't stop until the case is solved" feel, etc.
I feel sorry for Hugh Jackman sometimes, mainly due to the fact that he cops criticism of his more theatre driven roles. If there was going to be a break-away film that separated Hugh from "that guy with the beard in X-Men" and "The boy from OZ", this was it. It's evident in the way that he acts in this new thriller that he had something to prove to the world as an actor. You could tell he was making up for not receiving roles like this in the past. Every actor will always say: "I don't care what people think", but we all know deep down that we all care to some degree. It's who we are.
Like most thrillers, the story-line was very slow, drowning (although in a good way) and puzzling. Constantly making you think about different scenarios and suspects. Decent movie-goers would probably work this plot out in due time. The suspense grows throughout the film, accentuated with low light levels which bring on that sense of anticipation and depth. The overall dull/gloomy appearance of the film is a credit to its own storyline. Reminding us as viewers the dimness of the whole situation and how hard it would be to be in Dover's situation. Jackman gives a portrayal of what I think any parent would do to ensure their child returns home safely. The passion, anger and overall stress steams out of Dover in many scenes where his temper is taken to new levels of hate.
I thought Paul Dano (Alex Jones) played an enormous role in the success of this film. His quirky features fit his role perfectly and at times he scared the crap out of me without any dialect at all. Given the intellectual capability of a 10 year old, Alex feels the full wrath of Dover's agony, and at times, madness. Gyllenhaal also makes his mark in a role which has been played out a thousand times previously. He turns a simple script into a meaningful progression of the calm and collective. He acts as Dover's rock and plays the detective part with ease, winning him the Best Supporting Actor award at the 2013 Hollywood Film Awards.
The main reason I watched this film was due to my eagerness to view Jackman's transformation from his previous typical roles. He did not fail expectations and proved his worth. You are left contemplating and thinking until the final moment of the film and even after the credits have started rolling up the screen. Prisoners is a suspense- riddled thriller from start to finish and a must see for 2013.