“A man who lost everything is capable of anything”
Placed as second-runner of the People’s Choice Award at the Toronto International Film Festival, Prisoners is a film by Denis Villeneuve, the director of the Oscar-nominated foreign language film Incendies. The story revolves around Keller Dover (Hugh Jackman) who is facing every parent’s worst nightmare. His six-year-old daughter, Anna, is missing, together with her young friend, Joy, 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 (Jake Gyllenhaal) arrests its driver, Alex Jones (Paul Dano), 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.
Hugh Jackman takes you into an intense and emotional journey of how far a father will go to save his missing daughter. Critics raved that this is Jackman’s finest performance to date. For me, there are times that he can be a bit over-the-top but it’s still outstanding and strong. The end result is that this is his most dramatic endeavor. I like how his actions provoke questions if the end really justifies the means particularly the implementation and tolerance of torture. Is he doing the right thing when he tortures Alex played by Paul Dano to get information? The standout for me is Jake Gyllenhaal. Channeling the frustrations of his character Detective Loki, he is at his best in this film. It is certainly interesting to see his investigation which reminded me of his role in David Fincher’s Zodiac. Will he capture the culprit before it is too late? Most of the supporting cast like Terrence Howard, Melissa Leo, Viola Davis and Maria Bello took the back seat but all showed reliably good performances.
The story unfolds in a very slow start. This is good to set up the characters but it might get you a bit bored. It will take some time before you find yourself engaged with it. The mood is dark and serious. No time for jokes. Good thing is that the cast still manages to get your attention all throughout. It was somewhere in the middle that really got me into it. It becomes gritty and suspenseful. More twists and turns are laid out that will keep you guessing. For instance, the only clue to the missing children’s possible location is a drawing of a maze. Sounds interesting right? It eventually goes down to a tense-filled climax and I like the twist in this part. I didn’t expect it. It caught me off guard since a lot happened beforehand. As for the ending, it will be abrupt for others but I feel it was a perfect way to end it. It let you imagine on what will happen next.
Verdict:
Slow in the beginning but engaging at the end. Prisoners is a gritty and thought-provoking mystery film driven by strong performances from Hugh Jackman and Jake Gyllenhaal!
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About the movie reviewer:
Orange Magazine TV‘s newest film critic is a self-confessed movie geek. John Albert Villanueva love movies so much, he watch every movies from the big screen and collects DVDs of classic movies. Read his other review here.
