PRISONERS Review: One of The Best Films of the Year (No Spoilers)

Denis Villeneuve previous work, Incendies, is a film so delicately arranged and thought-provoking it’s hard to forget. That same outstanding talent to create mystery, atmospheric tension, and to sweep the audience off the ground with its revelations has now been translated into the Hollywood machine. In Prisoners Villeneuve found a story that fits all his stylistic and directorial abilities, by definition it is a thriller but it plays out like a moral exposé that takes both the characters and viewers into some of the darkest shades of the human psyche.

Driven by any parent’s worst nightmare the story follows what seems to be the most recent occurrence in a series of unsolved missing children cases. Hugh Jackman plays Keller Dover, a father that falls into despair when her daughter and the neighbors’ daughter are abducted soon after Thanksgiving dinner. An RV parked nearby becomes the first clue in a plot that builds suspense, even fear, with every passing moment the girls are not found.

Disturbed young man Alex, played by Paul Dano, becomes the investigation’s prime suspect. Taking pride in the fact that he has solved all cases he has been assigned, officer Loki (Jake Gyllenhaal) is determined to uncover the truth. On the other hand, desperate for answers and infuriated that Alex was set free, Keller decides to take matters into his own hands, literally, imprisoning Alex in his broken down old home . Equally consumed with grief the other girl’s father, Franklin (Terrence Howard), is brought in to the hostage situation. Lines of morality, prisoner/captive, and villain/victim are here brutally blurred.

As with Villeneuve’s previous work, Prisoners is a long film on paper, 153 minutes long, but not for a second does it feel like any frame or piece of information is unnecessary. It tightly grips the audience’s attention for it’s compelling performances by an all-star cast that execute their roles with riveting intensity. Exactly that is the best word to describe the film, intense, aided by an audacious script, the film is grounded on a common premise but turns it into one of the most unpredictable and compelling films of the year. Deciphering the connections between the obscure secrets this community hides is a tough task.

Jackman is just splendid as a man who has been broken, whose moral code and perception of “by all means necessary” torment him for not fulfilling his duty as a protector. Equally astonishing are Viola Davis, and the unrecognizable Melissa Leo as Alex’s aunt who is the only one that care for the lonely young man. On his part, Gyllenhaal delivers what it’s asked of him as a hardheaded officer whose emotions take the best of him. Working from the terrific screenplay by Aaron Guzikowski, director Villeneuve crafts an astonishing film once again, proving that his captivating measure of suspense and brilliant acting didn’t get lost from the art house field to the mainstream. Hands down one of the best films of the year.

“How far would you go to protect your family? Keller Dover (Jackman) is facing every parent’s worst nightmare. His six-year-old daughter is missing, together with her young friend, and as minutes turn to hours, panic sets in. The only lead is a dilapidated RV that had earlier been parked on their street. Heading the investigation, Detective Loki (Gyllenhaal) arrests its driver, but a lack of evidence forces his release. As the police pursue multiple leads and pressure mounts, knowing his child’s life is at stake the frantic Dover decides he has no choice but to take matters into his own hands. But just how far will this desperate father go to protect his family?”