a rewatch confirmed that it covered many more bases than I originally thought. One of the years best, no doubt.

Rating: 9/10 (3 January 2014)

I like the way the film doesn't beat-around-the-bush in the set-up. The "disappearance" comes in the first ten minutes of the film.
Loads of other strengths here.
The production overall is excellent. The acting across the board is fantastic. Each character has depth. I love the way the film explores the mental and physical anguish of not just the parents, but the police officer and the accused.
Jake Gyllenhaal's character is a steady force in this film. We'd like to know a bit more about his background as viewers, but it's nice to see a police officer portrayed with such dignity.
That said, "Prisoners" stand-out performance is delivered by Hugh Jackman. I'd go as far as to say it's the best performance of his career.
All of the plot-nit-pickers on other reviews are obtuse... I watched the film a second time to see how the film covered it's bases, and literally everything was covered. There's nothing to nit-pick. Even the character consistencies are accurate. ANd after the re-view I'm tempted to up this to 9.LATE EDIT - I have now up'd this to 86/100 - in hind-site the film covers practically EVERY base... amazingly.
Very tense film. Has a lot of moral questions to ask about victims AND police officers. The climax where Jake G is speeding in the rain is perhaps the most intense scene I've seen in years. It's incredibly well-shot. IMO the definitive moment of the film - when director and cinematographer take the build-up of the previous two hours and work it into an amazing crescendo. An absolutely AMAZING scene. The whole film paces, but the last 25 minutes is by far the best. Questions I had about Joy's escape, Alex's involvement, and the ending were clearly answered the second time around - I just missed them. SImple as that - as I suppose others did too.
highly recommended. 84/100. The film isn't perfect, but it's very, very good. Not too many good thriller/drama's in 2013.. but this is rt up there with MUD, The East, Place Beyond the Pines, and Disconnect as one of the years best.
You will like this if you liked:Zodiac(about even), Silence of the Lambs(about even - yea I just said it), or The Lovely Bones(not as good).