Uncompromising and powerful in its portrayal of moral ambiguity, Prisoner is an outstanding psychological thriller that dares to leave an impact

Rating: 9/10 (5 October 2015)

Children being abducted is every parent's worst nightmare. Facing such an unfavorable circumstance can be quite frightening, if not devastating. What kind of testament of a father seeking for justice against the evil doer who kidnaps his child can French-Candian director Denis Villenueve bring to this powerful whiplash of a psychological thriller? Prisoners is a movie that grabs the heart and dares not the let go while challenges viewers with moral complexities and one of the powerful jabs at "what would you do" circumstances. Uncompromising and packed with a brutal punch of suspense of psychological weight that is nearly impossible to resist, the film plays no game when testing the audiences' expectations and wringing out psychological elements to dare to think hard long after the end credits roll. One thing is sure, and that is Denis Villenueve shares no room for comfort or easy answers for the characters or the situation surrounding them. And that is only part of what makes this piece shine. Set during the Thanksgiving holidays, the film focuses on Keller Dover (played by Hugh Jackman) and his wife Grace (played by Mario Bello) who invite their friends Franklin (played by Terrence Howard) and Nancy Birch (played by Viola Davis) over for dinner. The families two young daughters Anna and Joy, both six-years-old, go outside to play. Before they know, the girls are nowhere to be found. Upon contacting the police, the families get help from Detective Loki (played by Jake Gyllenhaal) to search for them. Who the man ends up finding is Alex Jones (played by Paul Dano), a mentally impaired man who owns a RV the girls were climbing, and takes him into custody. Due to the lack of evidence from his mental disability, the police believe him to be innocent and let him go. Keller, however, is not buying it and decides to take matters into his own hands.
This film pulls absolutely no punches when exhibiting Keller Dover's descent into vigilantism, and the moral ambiguity that almost immediately consumes him set a powerful, albeit unnerving groundwork for the testament of what extreme measures he is willing to take to get his beloved daughter back. With his eyes pinned on the only known suspect Alex Jones, Keller makes the questionable decision to take him to an abandoned house, tied him up, and tortures him in sporadic sequences that are horrifyingly realistic and difficult to watch. The psychological core rests in the questionable nature of his character to the point where you question whether we should be rooting for him or not. Even his friend Franklin is left uncomfortable by his actions. While it is not too hard to sympathize for a man who's dear flesh and blood has been taken from him, especially when the possibilities of the child's survival declines for each day he or she is not found, it is also hard to stand by his morally dubious actions. But Denis Villenueve knows how to keep things engaging at a solid cerebral level while narrowly confining away from the borders of grim exploitation. And that's including his visual method of storytelling in which is greatly assisted by cinematographer Roger Deakins who captures the simmering heat of the atmosphere with his nifty camera work. As for Hugh Jackman, his performance is definitely a home-run for an emotionally devastated thirsty for justice. Jake Gyllenhaal as Detective Loki is another great asset as well, pinning sheer humanity to a role that requires significant grit. Paul Dano, on the other hand, takes on a slightly easier role that requires very little dialogue for a character with a significantly low IQ, and his performance deserves a thumbs up.
Prisoners is not always an easy watch, but that does take away from how powerful and uncompromising it is. It is an outstanding achievement by Denis Villenueve that deserves your attention, though perhaps not for those who are unwilling to take a journey through the dark pits of child abduction and vigilantism. Nonetheless, it is an engrossing experience that packs a punch.