good intense

Rating: 8/10 (5 December 2013)

Detective Loki (Jake Gyllenhaal) is searching for a child serial killer, and catches Alex Jones (Paul Dano) in an old RV. Meanwhile, Keller Dover (Hugh Jackman) and Franklin Birch (Terrence Howard) lose their daughters during a gathering. Loki has to let Jones loose, but Dover is not letting him go.
Paul Dano always does a great creep. Jake Gyllenhaal does a capable cop, but I think he overacts sometimes. The interrogation room scene comes out of nowhere. I think that was a mistake. The big acting comes from Hugh Jackman. He's the key to this movie. It's possibly his best performance. He is intense without being melodramatic. What Keller Dover does in the movie is absolutely fascinating, and morally dangerous. I do wish the film go full out on that route. The film does let him escape morally a little too easily.
Director Denis Villeneuve is a skilled Quebec filmmaker. He has fashioned a tight intense thriller. However, it resolves too neatly. It's a dirty dark movie. I'd prefer an ugly dark ending. Although I'm not going deduct any points for that.