From an exceptional cast assembled comes a crime thriller of exceptional quality

Rating: Null/10 (4 November 2013)

While this is a first class crime thriller, this aspect is only secondary. Above all the mystery, clues, twists and red herrings, this movie is anchored in a nerve-wrecking struggle between two personalities, assiduously drawn out throughout the entire movie. But let us take a look first at the brilliant cast assembled, the main attraction drawing me into the cinema in the first place – the magnificent seven. While convention wisdom has it that winning the Oscar puts ones name in history while mere nominees are all but forgotten almost immediately, I beg to differ. At times, winning it does not really prove anything – look at John Wayne and I need elaborate no further (he, incidentally, is among my best-liked stars). On the other hand, being nominated means more than what people gives it credit for. I'll review the cast in this context.
Huge Jackman, as lead actor of "Les Miserables", got an Oscar nomination and won a Golden Globe. Forget about all of his previous screen persona, including Logan-Wolverine. In "Prisoners" you see a Jackman you've never seen before, throbbing with urgency that propels his character into a vortex of violence. Jake Gyllenhaal has just one supporting Oscar nomination, for "Brokeback Mountain" (which earned him a BAFTA), and should have got a lot more over the years. But never mind that. In "Prisoners", similarly, you see a very different Gyllenhaal from the handsome young man you are familiar with. With an atrocious hair style that spells "mid-age" all over, he redefines uncharismatic. Everything his character does is measured, controlled, reasoned. He has been quoted to say that in this movie, his character is the brain while Jackman's is the heart.
Viola Davis has two Oscar nominations, for lead in "The help" and support in "Doubt". It verges on being incomprehensible that Maria Bello has to-date not received any Oscar nomination. Her two Golden Globe nominations, similar to Davis's Oscar nominations, were for support and lead respectively, from "The cooler" and "A history of violence". The latter, directed by none other than David Cronenberg, gave her an impressive collection of Best Actress wins in critics' award on various major cities. Terrence Howard was nominated for Best Actor by both Oscar and Golden Globe for "Hustle and flow". It is almost unbelievable that among the seven in this distinguished cast only one has actually won an Oscar, Melissa Leo in "The fighter" which won her the Golden Globe as well. Paul Dano, among today's best choices for nerdy or mentally handicapped roles, was recognized as a promising newcomer in "Little Miss Sunshine" and got a BAFTA support nomination a year later with "There will be blood".
Everybody knows that about a whodunit, the less said about the plot and the developments the better. Suffices to say, therefore, that this one is not exceptionally convoluted, and certainly satisfying. And it is almost motherhood to say that a lot of crimes originate from festering, deep-rooted virulence. The most talked about aspect on this movie is not a spoiler, by the mere fact that it is so much talked-about: the moral issue of whether the objective justifies resorting to violence and torturing a crime suspect. Here, we are not talking about professional secret agents and terrorists suspects. We are talking about an everyday citizen driven to extremes by his perception of the police's incompetence in finding and rescuing his kidnapped daughter, while the clock is ticking. At this movie, many may flinch, or more. But the graphic visual has a purpose: to anchor the aforementioned conflict between the two key protagonists – the emotional father and the reasoning cop.
Finally, "Prisoners" is the English language debut of director Denis Villeneuve. For those who have seen is Oscar-nominated "Incendies" (2010), nothing further needs to be said. Those who haven't will not regret going out to but a DVD.