The English language debut from Canadian director Denis Villeneuve, his follow-up to the Oscar nominated Incendies, Prisoners, at it's core, plays with our fears and emotions, presenting us with a scenario feared by just about everybody: our helplessness when a child goes missing. Jumping off from that, Villeneuve, helped immensely by cinematographer Roger Deakins (adding to his already impressive back catalogue, including Skyfall, Jarhead, Fargo, and The Big Lebowski), weaves an absorbing, layered mystery that suffocates the audience with an overwhelming sense of dread and tension.
Hugh Jackman plays Keller Dover, a failing carpenter, whose life is turned upside down when his daughter, and the daughter of his neighbour (Terence Howard) go missing. When the prime suspect, mentally challenged Alex Jones (Paul Dano), is released without charges, Dover is driven to the edge, and takes matters into his own hands, kidnapping and torturing Jones, who he believes knows more than he is letting on. Meanwhile, the investigating officer in charge of the case, Detective Loki (Jake Gyllenhall) begins to uncover evidence that leads to a much larger mystery.
Nothing can really prepare you for the emotional wringer that awaits when you sit down to watch Prisoners. From the opening frame, a sense of dread seeps from the screen, backed up wonderfully by the desolate landscape of run down houses and failing businesses the movie is set in. It doesn't take long for the story to get up and running, and the initial scenes of the girls' disappearance are extremely powerful, watching the beginning of Dover's descent into desperation. As the mystery unfolds, you're left with questions at every turn. Not only who is responsible for the youngsters going missing, but who is the real bad guy? Is the Dover, who goes to extreme lengths in his torture of Alex, but is ultimately driven by his helplessness and anger at the inefficient police department? Is it Alex, who may not be the helpless invalid he portrays in public, but who may genuinely know nothing of the case. Is it the police chief who berates Loki at every turn, while not pushing the case forward, due to the 'recession'? (yeah, it's that guy. He's a real asshole). What I'm trying to say here, everybody exists in a state of moral ambiguity, that it is really hard to find someone to root for, but they act and react in such a real way that they still compel you stick to the end.
The story moves at a steady pace, adding each layer to the mystery slowly and methodically, though the 153 minutes runtime may be a bit too much. But, ultimately, the story falls at the final hurdle. The big reveal feels too big and far fetched for what came before, the maze motif, that plays a big in all the advertising, coming into play in a way that is never fully explained. But thankfully the acting pulls it through, with Hugh Jackman giving the performance of his life. You can see the desperation etched on his face as the situation slowly breaks him, but he stops Dover from falling into full monster territory, showing a spark of humanity to the end. Gyllenhall also puts in a fine performance, giving the usual detective role a bit more in terms of how you relate to him. As the investigation hits one of it's many dead ends, your frustration will echo his. With the two powerful leads, the other actors are kind of left to the wayside, with Terence Howard put to the side early on. His character doesn't add much to proceedings, and nothing would change about the story if he would have been dropped completely. Dano and Maria Bello, as Dover's wife, also feel wasted, Bello especially.
At times hard to watch, Prisoners is a masterfully crafted mystery, lead by two powerful performances, that will make you question how you would act in this situation. Highly recommended!!
