About The Movie:
How far would you go to protect your
family? Keller Dover 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
arrests its driver, Alex Jones, 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?
What Is Good/Bad About The Movie:
It’s rare to find a film that really
works on all levels, but that’s exactly what Prisoners a movie that works.
Armed with blistering performances, an enthralling mystery, and some stunning
filmmaking, the high-tension kidnapping thriller opens Oscar season with a
bang.
But if Gyllenhaal is a pair of
tweezers delicately working to pull back the layers of the case, Jackman is a
20-pound sledgehammer filled to the brim with raw emotion, fire and pure id.
Playing a grieving father makes it easy to sympathize with Keller off the bat,
but the blinding rage that the actor expresses helps push the character in
fascinating directions. As the story continues, half of you understands his
passion and where that passion has led, while the other half wonders if he may
not be film’s true villain. It’s a fascinating arc, and one made powerful and
real by Jackman’s performance.
Despite its impressively stacked
cast, Prisoners isn’t an ensemble film, but that doesn’t stop the supporting
players from being fantastic and contributing to the movie in a major way. As
the film’s first and prime suspect, Dano constantly throws off every guess the
audience has about the story’s twists and turns and brilliantly plays the role
with a perfect mix of extreme creepiness and child-like simplicity. Davis and
Howard go through similar tragedies as the Dovers, and have a much different
kind of arc, but both still deliver compelling, heart-wrenching performances.
Of the main cast Bello gets the short stick, her character dealing with with
the trauma by turning to prescription pills and hours and hours of sleep, but
when she gets her spotlight moments she shines.
As though it’s not enough to have a
terrific mystery and host some absolutely astounding performances, it’s all
brought to life with gorgeous direction and cinematography. The film is littered
with slow, creeping tracking shots that lend incredible atmosphere and suspense
to the story. The contrast between the
beautiful aesthetic and the dark, gritty story is stunning.
The movie plays with many themes over
the course of its story, including the morality of what one would do to protect
their own, the validity of torture, religion, and the many meanings of its
simple title, and it all comes together to create a film that is part
deep-thinking, hard hitting thriller and part pulpy mystery. A great deal of Prisoners is
hard to watch due to its heavy and graphic content, but thanks to Villeneuve’s
direction, Deakins camerawork, and Gyllenhaal and Jackman’s performances it’s
even harder to look away.
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