Every parent knows the fear of losing their child. "Prisoners" is a film about when that fear becomes reality. Average moviegoers will walk out of "Prisoners" feeling emotionally drained, but there should be a special warning label attached for anyone watching this film with young ones at home. Featuring career-best performances from Hugh Jackman as the father of an abducted girl and Jake Gyllenhaal as the detective assigned to find her, "Prisoners" is the most excruciating two-and-a-half hours you will spend in a theater this year.
The film presents itself like a twisty-turny mystery, but there's not much material here that hasn't been mined before: ordinary men becoming vigilantes ("Death Wish"); fathers going to violent lengths to protect their daughters ("Taken"); misunderstood suspects who may or may not actually be guilty ("Mystic River"); loner detectives going that extra mile in the pursuit of justice (every detective movie ever). None of these are new themes. The screenplay was written by Aaron Guzikowski, whose only other feature film credit is the mediocre Mark Wahlberg action flick "Contraband." The bulk of the credit for "Prisoners" ending up such a masterpiece is due to its director, Denis Villeneuve, of the Academy Award-nominated foreign film "Incendies," making his English-language debut here. He establishes a palpable sense of dread early on, and it never lets up for a second.
The rain- and snow-drenched streets, the oppressively grey sky, and the rundown houses all imbue the film with an inescapably bleak tone. The sparse score, with its mournful strings and pounding drums, knows just when to kick in for maximum effect. The camera lingers alternately on dark hallways and bare trees with sinister stillness. Villeneuve gleefully exploits our expectations of the genre; there's a sense that anything could happen at any time -- but just when you think something's about to happen, it doesn't. The tension is often unbearable.
Hugh Jackman burns through the screen with a fiery passion as Keller Dover, a man driven to the brink of insanity after his daughter is kidnapped. Keller is a survivalist, always planning ahead for natural and man-made disasters, stockpiling his basement with supplies for the inevitable apocalypse. When he finds himself rocked by a crisis he never saw coming, he's understandably furious. His rage, despair, and exhaustion take turns ravaging his craggy face with believable intensity. And Jake Gyllenhaal has never been better than as Detective Loki. He finally sheds his youthful puppy dog reputation, here playing a committed but friendless officer who executes his job with a cold sense of purpose. He's the ice to Keller's fire: no less passionate, but infinitely more focused.
The supporting cast is culled from a list of prestigious Oscar and Golden Globe nominees, but the film never feels like mere awards bait. Maria Bello ("A History Of Violence") is Keller's wife, who goes catatonic with grief. Paul Dano ("There Will Be Blood") is Alex, the simple-minded suspect and Melissa Leo ("The Fighter") is his protective aunt. Terrence Howard ("Hustle & Flow") and Viola Davis ("The Help") are neighbors whose daughter was also abducted. They are stand-ins for the audience, appalled by the lengths to which Keller will go to find the missing children. But just like those watching the film, they also find themselves unable to condemn his efforts. Won't they be worthwhile if they lead to the girls' safe return?
It's that question that haunts the entirety of "Prisoners." If Alex is innocent, then Keller is committing a horrific crime for no reason. But even if he is guilty, are Keller's actions justified? Where other revenge flicks are permeated by a cathartic "f--- yeah!" attitude, "Prisoners" goes in for no such easy moral certainty. Keller is selling his soul to save his daughter, and that's terrible and difficult to watch...but wouldn't any parent do the same? The film's strongest aspect is making its hero a man so at peace with using any means necessary, and then asking the audience to identify with him. "Prisoners" is an ugly film (which is not an insult) that takes a hard look at the animalistic potential inside us all and provides no easy answers. You will leave the theater feeling shaken to the core.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1kWeHtI63jc[/youtube]
