Prisoners Reviews

Denis Villeneuve has made some terrific films in the past, however with Prisoners he crafts the best film of his career to date. With a powerful script and great cast of varied talent, Prisoners is one of the year's finest dramas. The film features a stunning performance by Hugh Jackman, who delivers something of Oscar worthy caliber. The film relies on a story that we've seen before, but through Villeneuve's lense, he makes a compelling, engaging picture that is simply brilliant. There film is filled with tension, and you are left guessing what will happen next. The plot keeps you on the edge of your seat, and it along with The Place Beyond the Pines, it's the best drama I've seen this year. Villeneuve is a great director, and he clearly demonstrates this film. Prisoners has a well written script, a great cast, and every ingredient necessary to make it a standout picture. This is one of the finest films that I've seen in quite some time, and with that being said, I can't wait to see what Denis Villeneuve will be directing next. Every actor here brings something to the screen that elevates the already strong material. If you enjoy well constructed crime dramas, then you definitely will enjoy the film. The tone of the film is tense and riveting and it succeeds on many levels. Prisoner is a stunning work that blazes across the screen, and though it's over two hours long, it moves quickly enough and you are sucked it due to the powerful performances. I wouldn't be surprised if Hugh Jackman would be nominated for an Oscar, as I personally felt that this was the greatest performance of his career. This is truly a film that you shouldn't miss.

Judged solely on its whodunit psychological thriller plot, Prisoners is predictable and basic. But director Denis Villeneuve and writer Aaron Guzikowski seem to be after a lot more here. Clocking in at a lengthy 21/2 hours, Prisoners puts you right into the shoes of the main characters - the grief-stricken father who will go to any length to find his daughter, the tough-as-nails detective who cares more than he lets on, and the creepy suspect who is beaten and tortured in ways most movies wouldn't dare depict. It makes us think about what we would do in these situations and how far can we be pushed before our moral ethics are questioned. Coupled with Roger Deakins' incredible shot compositions, Prisoners is a hypnotic and hopelessly dark experience.
Hugh Jackman gives one of his most ferocious performances. This is a side of him you have never seen before. The supporting case including Terrence Howard, Viola Davis, Maria Bello, Paul Dano and of course Gyllenhaal are all spectacular here, but it is Hugh Jackman who outshines everyone. Prisoners is an emotionally complex and disturbingly eerie thriller that is brought down by its obvious plot twists, but is still worth seeing for its sheer intensity and Award worthy acting.

A suspenseful and chilling thriller with stunning performances, gorgeous cinematography and solid dialogue.

If the word "engaging" had a movie associated to it, it would be Prisoners. There are few movies in which I literally approve of everything and this was one of them. The box office needed a film like this, too much time has gone by since I've seen a quality thriller/suspense movie like this one.....BRAVO!

One rainy Thanksgiving day, two little girls go missing. Keller and Grace Dover (Hugh Jackman, Maria Bello) and their neighbors, Franklin and Nancy Birch (Terrence Howard, Viola Davis), discover their two young daughters have gone missing. A manhunt is underway for a suspicious RV, spearheaded by Detective Loki (Jake Gyllenhaal). The RV is found with Alex Jones (Paul Dano) inside. The problem is that there is no physical evidence of the missing girls inside the RV and Alex has the mental capacity of a ten-year-old. He's being released and Keller is incensed. He's certain that Alex is guilty and knows where his missing daughter is being held. One night, Keller kidnaps Alex and imprisons him in an abandoned building. He beats him bloody, demanding Alex to tell him the truth, but he only remains silent. Loki has to deal with finding the girls, finding a missing Alex, and trailing Keller, suspicious of foul play.

This is a movie that grabs you early and knows how to keep you squirming in the best ways. The anxiety of a missing child is presented in a steady wave of escalating panic. The moment when you watch the Dover and Birch families slowly realize the reality of their plight, well it's a moment that puts a knot in your stomach. Prisoners is filled with moments like this, that make you dread what is to come next. The crime procedural elements of the case are generally interesting and well handled to the point that they feel grounded, that these events could transpire, including police mistakes. The central mystery sucks you in right away and writer Aaron Guzikowski (Contraband) lays out clues and suspects with expert pacing, giving an audience something new to think over. At 153 minutes, there is a lot to chew over in terms of plot developments and character complications. It's a compelling mystery yarn and shows such promise, though the last half hour cannot deliver fully. Fortunately, Prisoners is packed with terrific characters, a real foreboding sense of Fincher-esque chilly atmosphere from director Denis Villeneuve (Incendies) and greatest living cinematographer Roger Deakens (Skyfall). The film's overall oppressive darkness is also notable for a mainstream release. The darkness doesn't really let up. It's hard to walk out feeling upbeat but you'll be thankful for those punishing predicaments.

By introducing the vigilante torture angle, Prisoners is given a dual storyline of suspense and intrigue. How far will Keller go? Will he get caught? What will his friends think? Will they be supportive or will they crack? How does this change Keller? That last question is the most interesting one. Others tell us how Keller is a good man, and he's certainly a devoted family man, but does a good man imprison and torture a mentally challenged man? Does a good man take the law into his own hands? If it meant the difference between your child being dead or alive, how far would you go? These are the questions that bubble up and the movie makes you deal with them. The torture segments are unflinching and challenge your viewer loyalty. You will be placed in an uncomfortable moral position. Then there's just the what-would-you-do aspect of the proceedings. Could you torture someone, possibly to death? Fortunately most of us will never have to find out. I do wish, however, that the movie had gone further, complicating matters even more severely. It becomes fairly evident halfway through that Alex is innocent. It would have been even more interesting to intensify Keller's legal troubles. If the police have their man, what does Keller do with Alex? Does he let him live after everything Keller has done? I think it would have worked as a logical escalation and put the audience in an even more uncomfortable position, forcing us to question whether Keller deserves to get away with what he did or pay a price.

What separates Prisoners from other common thrillers, and what must have appealed to such an all-star cast, is the raised level of characterization on display. Jackman's (Les Miserables) intensity is searing, as is his characters sense of pain and futility. By all accounts, this is the best acting work Jackman has done in his career. Keller's determination is all consuming, pushing away his doubts with his reliable pool of anger. Everyone is failing him so he feels he must take matters into his own hands, and the film does a fine job of relating his frustrations and urgency. But Keller is also in danger of derailing the ongoing investigation, becoming a liability to finding his daughter. This predicament pushes Loki into the tricky role of having to defuse parental intrusion, pushing him into a role he loathes, having to tell a harrowed father to back off. Loki is also consumed with the case, causing plenty of internal tumult and chaffing with the inefficiency and miscommunication of the police force. Gyllenhaal (End of Watch) doesn't play his character big; he keeps it at a simmer, with hints of rage below the surface. His character is certainly richer than the Driven Cop we've often seen. His character is given less moral ambiguity but you too feel his frustration working within the system and hitting dead ends. These two performers are both ticking time bombs.

The rest of the supporting cast has a moment or two to shine, though the characters are given less to work with. Bello (Grown Ups 2) is hastily disposed of from a plot standpoint by making her practically comatose with grief. Davis (The Help) knows how to make the most of limited screen time (see her Oscar nominated performance in 2008's Doubt as evidence), and she's heartbreaking in her moments of desperate pleading. Howard (Lee Daniels' The Butler) is meant as the foil to Keller, a voice of moral opposition, but Howard lets the gravity of his involvement in horrible acts hit you hard. Dano (Ruby Sparks) has the toughest part in many ways because of his character's brokenness and the fact that he's being tortured so frequently. It's hard not to sympathize with him even if part of you suspects his guilt. Naturally, Dano is adept at playing weirdos. Melissa Leo (Olympus Has Fallen) is nearly unrecognizable as Alex's older aunt caring for him. She's prepared for the worst from the public but has some nice one-on-ones where she opens up about the difficulty of losing a child herself.

Prisoners is such a good mystery that it works itself into a corner to maintain it, ensuring that no real answer or final reveal will be satisfying, and it isn't. I'm going to tiptoe around major spoilers but I will be delving into some specifics, so if you wish to remain pure, skip ahead. The culprit behind the child abductions, to put it mildly, is underwhelming and rather obtuse in their wicked motivation. The specified reason is to test people's faith and turn them into monsters by abducting their children. This comes across as an awfully nebulous philosophical impetus, and it's a motivating force that I find hard to believe even in the grimy, dark reality the movie presents. It just doesn't feel grounded, more like a last-ditch conclusion to a TV procedural. However, what makes this ending worse is the false turns and red herrings that Prisoners utilizes. Every mystery requires some red herrings but they need to seem credible, and if executed properly, the characters will learn something useful through the false detour. The issue with Prisoners is that it establishes a secondary suspect that is so OBVIOUSLY the guilty guy, compounded with plenty of incriminating evidence including the missing children's clothing covered in blood. When this suspect comes undone, his sketchy behavior starts to become a series of contrivances. They introduce a character that is too readily the guilty party, and then they just as easily undo him. And here's another character of questionable motivation. Plus, there's the central contrivance of having two characters that remain mute under all torturous circumstances unless the plot requires them to say something that can only be interpreted in an incriminating manner. These mounting plot contrivances, and an ending that wants to be ambiguous but in no way is, rob Prisoners of being the expertly crafted thriller it wants to be. It still hits you in the gut, but you'll be picking it apart on the car ride home.

Grisly, morally uncomfortable, and genuinely gripping, Prisoners is a grownup thriller that isn't afraid to do to dark places, with its characters and its plot. It hooks you early and keeps you on the hook, pushing its characters to make desperate decisions and asking you to think how you would perform under similar circumstances. It's a fascinating meta game and one that also adds extra intrigue to a rather intriguing mystery. It may not be revolutionary, but Prisoners is an above-average thriller with strong suspense and characterization. Where Prisoners stumbles is how it brings all this darkness to a close. The ending is rather perfunctory and not terribly satisfying; perhaps no ending would have been truly satisfying given the setup, but I'd at least prefer an alternative to the one I got, especially since it feels less grounded than the 140 minutes or so beforehand. It's an ending that doesn't derail the movie, but it certainly blunts the film's power and fulfillment. Then again perhaps a word like "fulfillment" is the wrong term to use on a movie that trades in vigilante torture and the cyclical nature of abuse. In pursuit of perceived justice, what are we all capable of doing? The answer is likely surprising and disheartening for many, and Prisoners deserves credit for pushing its audience into uncomfortable positions and reflections.

Nate's Grade: B

I won tickets to secret screening of Prisoners and as well as having a free glass of wine given to us when we got there, we were also surprised with a special guest appearance from Director Denis Villeneuve and stars Hugh Jackman and Jake Gyllenhaal. I met Donnie Darko and The Wolverine! Whoo hoo. I have of course left all additional bias and enthusiasm at the door in reviewing this film, my opinion is a totally honest one. It's brilliant. I was saying only the other day to my wife (who is still on cloud 9 after meeting Hugh Jackman) that I haven't seen a really good thriller in a long time and now I have. From the very beginning, Prisoners is an intense and thrilling experience. Intensity and thrills aren't always easy things to get right but here, director Denis Villeneuve stretches both for the whole length of the film with loosing any quality or strength. It is an easy 153 minutes to sit through, although it is exhausting. Everything is important though, nothing you are shown or told is there to throw you off pace or play for time, it's all important to the story. I think it's a triumph and easily one of the best thrillers of resent years and one of the top films of the year so far.

With a very solid cast and great pacing, "Prisoners" is one of the most intense films of 2013, even if it is a bit of a letdown. It takes a very done-to-death plot and puts a few unique twists and turns in it, but you can't help but start piecing the puzzle together early on, and if you pay attention enough, the ending is screaming at you right from the start. I do give props to the writer for the way he chose to display the foreshadowing, but if you are really trying to be a smart filmgoer, the ending will not come as much of a surprise. Hugh Jackman, Jake Gyllenhaal, and Terrence Howard deliver superb performances and the score is absolutely perfect. The sound, along with the great performances is really what sells this film for me, and it will definitely merit multiple viewings for sure. With a well written script, intense dramatic moments, and just the right amount foreshadowing (even if predictable), "Prisoners" is a great film all around, and I highly recommend it!

****

"Prisoners" is one of those movies that is going to be hard for a lot of people to watch. It's a movie about a child abduction and the lengths that a father will go to to get his daughter back. If you mixed "Mystic River" and "Seven" together, then you would get "Prisoners". There are lots of twists and turns, and it will keep you on the edge of your seat and eyes glued to the screen. The cast in this is absolutely amazing. Spearheaded by Hugh Jackman playing the father, and this is his best role yet. If he doesn't get a best actor nomination at the awards shows this year, then there is something very, very wrong. There were two scenes with him where I nearly had a tear or two come out. It's very powerful stuff. Jake Gyllenhall is also terrific as the lead detective on the case. Paul Dano, Viola Davis, Terrance Howard, and Mellissa Leo round out the ensemble, and each one is terrific. This is one of those movies where it'll end and you will immediately say "I would have done this..." or I agree with this person. It's very easy to put yourself into their shoes, especially if you're a parent. My wife asked if this would have had the same impact 5 years ago, and I don't think it would have. This is an amazing movie, with a truly gripping story. Sure some won't like it or want to watch it, but for everyone else, this is one of the best movies of 2013 right now. I'd be very surprised if this doesn't end up on my top 5 list at the end of the year.

A dark, unsettling, successfully soul-crushing story concerning two lost girls from two different families, the detective (Jake Gyllenhaal) trying to track them down despite the path getting increasingly cold, and how one of the fathers (Hugh Jackman) kidnaps and tortures a young man (Paul Dano) who he believes might have kidnapped the girls. This is a heavy film handled exceptionally well from director Denis Villeneuve, who shoots the film like a David Fincher classic, and the acting (outside of Jackman, who does not flesh out his character enough) is first-rate. It is not a film for everyone, especially for some parents, as this is a worst-case scenario brought to life in frightening fashion. The writing is phenomenal, and the ending is clever and not predictable at all given the almost overbearing darkness and dread this film possesses.

'Prisoners'. A snaking screenplay that plays on fears and desperation in an agonisingly captivating way. Jackman and Gyllenhaal are great!

The cinematography stands out too, and of course, as the credits started rolling, Roger A. Deakins' name appears.

In "Prisoners," one minute Anna(Erin Gerasimovich) and Joy(Kyla Drew Simmons) are at the home of Joy's parents(Viola Davis & Terrence Howard) on Thanksgiving. The next minute they are nowhere to be found. One clue to their whereabouts turns out to be an ancient RV which Detective Loki(Jake Gyllenhaal) finds at a rest area before arresting its driver, Alex Jones(Paul Dano), when he tries to make a break for it. Since he has nothing to hold him, Alex is released back into the custody of his aunt Holly(Melissa Leo). This angers Anna's father, Keller Dover(Hugh Jackman), a contractor, to no end. So, he takes matters into his own hands while Detective Loki checks in with the local sex offenders.

"Prisoners" is a dark, foreboding and twisted movie that is helped by an excellent cast that also includes Maria Bello. Anytime you get an intense performance from Hugh Jackman like the one he gives here, you are certainly doing something right. And that's even with one large coincidence and one possibly not so original moment. In any case, the movie does not waste much time before getting to the heart of the matter and then settling down to take its time in telling its ambiguous and multi-layered story wherein most of the characters, both good and bad(and often the line is blurred like nobody's business), are haunted by the past and still show the scars today. And, oh my, that ending!

Prisoners is not a film that you leave saying "that was a good time." After a few minutes of tranquility, it becomes relentlessly bleak, quickly making the leap from a nice Thanksgiving dinner to detective work, torture, and suicide in a disturbingly deft fashion. Prisoners reminded me of the old David Fincher films, of the ilk of Fight Club and Se7en, with gradually unraveling plotlines told through cold and subdued cinematography.

In a few ways, this is really just another thriller; a multitude of shots of people frantically hurrying about, and an antagonist's motivation that comes off as laughable. But there are plenty of movies that put tired cliches to good use, and Prisoners is one of them. In spite of all this, there is a handful of great performances at work, with Jackman in particular portraying a man barely holding on with chilling efficacy. It's not without its share of blemishes, and plays it a bit too safe in its depiction of the subject matter, but Prisoners is a dread-inducing, pure thriller with enough twists and turns to satisfy.

Genre films elevated to Oscar status are nothing new in the industry. Sure, nowadays, the studios are looking for indie directors who've made a splash to helm their summer tentpoles, but it's not really a recent trend. ARGO was just the latest in a long line of "programmers" to win the Best Picture Academy Award. THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS, FRENCH CONNECTION, GLADIATOR, BRAVEHEART, or if we're going to reach far back, THE GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH, are essentially masterfully-made B movies.

Into the fray steps PRISONERS, which from the trailer seemed to me like TAKEN with an Oscar buzz cast and an indie darling director. Missing child revenge thrillers have sold a lot of popcorn in the past, so why not slather on a patina of importance and attract everyone to the project? Add an unnecessary 146 minute running time, and you get "important" cinema, right? Those gold statuettes will practically come pre-etched.

None of this is to say I didn't enjoy PRISONERS. It's actually pretty stirring stuff for what seems like a first pass at an edit. Fraught with bloated pacing issues and a fair amount of repetition (how many ways can Hugh Jackman scream "Find my daughter now!"?), the film has such an accomplished sense of place and tone, you're almost willing to forgive its many shortcomings.

Set in suburban Pennsylvania but actually shot in Georgia, we join the Dover's and their neighbors, the Birch's, as they celebrate Thanksgiving. It's bleak, rainy, grey and a sense of quiet isolation and dread permeates every one of cinematographer Roger Deakins' great images. There's a sense of uneasiness from its opening images of Jackman and his son (Dylan Minnette - so good in LET ME IN and LOST) as they hunt a deer. It sets the tone that we're in for a vicious, brutal survival story. In a perfectly calibrated, casual manner, it slowly dawns on the families that their young daughters are missing. From here on out, you're in for a sad tale replete with an almost endless series of twists and turns.

Enter the ridiculously monikered Detective Loki (Jake Gyllenhaal), a stern cop who has solved every case, as he immediately clashes with Jackman, who understandably wants results NOW! Jackman is pretty great in this film, balancing a protective father role with one far more rage-filled and dangerous than expected. When a suspect (Paul Dano) is apprehended and let go, Jackman is convinced of his guilt, and makes some very painful decisions in the process. Gyllenhaal is given very little to work with. No back story and a LOT of ZODIAC-style snooping around, but he's completely mesmerizing, all rapid blinking and hardened attitude. I'm not sure I completely believed that a small town Pennsylvania town would allow its detectives to have visible neck tattoos, but I just went with it. Gyllenhaal wisely underplays his part, ceding all of the big moments to Jackman.

What's odd and distinctive about the film is what's not shown. Many key plot points occur offscreen. Abrupt fades to black pepper the film and there are strange diversions which help paint a picture of a town with a very sordid past. A haunting push-in on a tree is far more chilling than seeing a child being duct-taped and abused. We never even see one character's cathartic release. Another is left for dead and never seen onscreen again. It's all geared to keep you off-balance. Sure, there's some arty pretension, and almost every scene could have benefited from some trimming. Characters are given long monologues to spew, whereas a bit of reserve would have spoken volumes. Melissa Leo does a great job as Dano's Aunt, a hardened Midwest type whose sense of joy clearly vanished with the death of the mullet and Farrah hairdos. David Dastmalchian memorably and creepily portrays a key suspect, who, guilty or not, provides some key pieces to the puzzle.

So much of the film resembles ZODIAC, except this time out, we actually find out the identity of the bad guy. It's fairly shocking stuff, causing you to rethink much of what you just saw. Deliberately leaving things out, down to it's final, unresolved scene, PRISONERS is satisfying as a treatise on what we've become as a society. The torture sequences blatantly reference Abu Ghraib and scream for after-movie coffee talk from the audience. There's a fantastic winter storm chase sequence in which the pelting snow is just the right detail to evoke extreme uneasiness. Too long and blustery by half, and flawed in that way Hollywood films insist they have a lesson to teach the rest of us yokels, PRISONERS is still a gripping, beautifully filmed movie of the moment.

Any kind of story can be a great one regardless of how many time a similar one might have been told. Challenging the norm of expectations of an entire genre, non traditional in storytelling, and even exploring the story in a new way. Prisoners breaks new ground with it premise that brings complexity and provoking thoughts on the viewer own morals.

Prisoners is about a father taking matters into his own hands after his young daughter and her friend disappear and a hot-shot detective assigned to the case relentlessly trying to find the clues that could lead to the whereabouts of the missing girls. Prisoners on the surface appears to be a basic film about child abduction, but its narrative is unconventional. The first thirty minutes waste no time setting up the characters, motivations, their moralities, and our early perception in how to view them. These characters are written realistically engaging the viewer to challenge themselves thoughtfully if they would do the same and what role would they play in a similar situation. This brilliantly works in favor of its story as we perceive each action slowly impairing our morality choosing which character to side with. It's tight and slow pacing desolately crawls under your skin. Switching from who sympathize for in many scenes. Intensifying the dreary atmosphere becoming more unsure how far character will go. Going even as far as to question if the motivation is enough to justify the action taken by a father to find his missing daughter.

Not in short supply is the clever usages of clues in the film connecting each together to paint a darker picture of events. Making it difficult to be exact if everything is exactly as we think. Keeping the viewer guessing how it'll all the way through the end. When it does reach the end it's an open ending that leaves viewer to interpret how the outcome resulted. The script fails to provide for the women of the film with anything that equals to the males. Most of the women don't play huge parts in the story being reduce to give exposition or motivation for another character. Serving little purpose other than being plot devices. It couldn't avoid a common trapping where the audience will piece the mystery faster than the film detective. Not entirely a negative flaw since it doesn't detract from the investment we make, but will make certain scenes of the film feel like a drag to get through.

Hugh Jackman has set a new high bar for his acting ability. Jackman approaches his character with ferocity keeping the audience guessing about their own moral complexities. He tears into scenes in a way we've never seen him and layers his character with plenty of affection, empathy, grief, and rage. Embodying everything the film represents giving a realistic, thoughtful portrayal on a complex character. Jake Gyllenhaal holds his own up against Jackman impressive performance. Jake Gyllenhaal is disconnected from real emotion in another multilayered role. He's the most identifiable embroiling himself with the family like the viewer and having constant doubts. Expressing our concern, frustration, and uncertainty. Paul Dano doesn't have too much to offer but is completely adequate in form. Dano plays a dumb character expertly having our doubts about him and humanizing him through little words. Supporting cast have little screen time especially the actresses, but fulfill on what little time they get. The score is haunting and expressively moody intensifying atmosphere.

Prisoners brings gritty realism in its premise without sacrificing intelligence nor avoids challenging the complexity of morality characters present. Anchor by two powerhouse performances that embodied the film moody atmosphere and complexity of morality. Embroiling the audience of the at times harshness of reality an experience that is relatable making them view their moral compass in an entirely different perspective.

One of the few movies that deserves a nearly two-and-a-half hour runtime, Prisoners is literally intense and suspenseful from the very first moments to the very last, making for a disturbing and compelling mystery. The big reveal at the end feels a little too much like a cop-out, but everything leading up to it is incredibly well-plotted and nail-bitingly tense, not to mention astoundingly well-acted thanks to Hugh Jackman, Paul Dano, and Jake Gyllenhaal. If you can make the time for it, Prisoners is as thrilling as a thriller can get.

Prisoners to no critic, this searing and brilliant new drama offers filmgoers a break from popcorn blockbusters with an award-worthy script and performances from popcorn blockbuster stars. Yes, it all comes from a the story. And yes, it helps that the story is damn good. And double yes, it definitely helps that the damn good story is well acted. Okay, let's make that brilliantly acted. Indeed, despite being deliciously twisty at times, Prisoners is not a head-scratching sci-fi drama about Patrick McGoohan trying to escape an advanced island corporation not inhabited by Gilligan. That would be The Prisoner. Pluralized doesn't always mean 'more is better' but, in this well crafted case, more equals potential Oscar gold.

In this R-rated drama, a desperate father (Jackman) takes matters into his own hands as the police (Gyllenhaal) pursue multiple leads and the pressure mounts following the disappearance of his daughter and her friend.

Even away from the razor-clawed mutant Wolverine, Hugh Jackman has proven his chops exponentially outside the comic book realm with turns in The Prestige and Les Miserables, moreso, his castmates Gyllenhaal (Brokeback Mountain), Terrence Howard (Lee Daniels' The Butler), Viola Davis (The Help), and Maria Bello (A History of Violence) certainly have delivered the goods time and again. Here, this ensemble simply kills it. Working from a Black List screenplay (an annual unpublished list of H'Wood's greatest unproduced scripts) by Aaron Guzikowski, they help to weave a dark but engrossing guessing game tale of crime and punishment at any price. The ending will rankle popcorn munchers but invigorate the artier crowd.

Bottom line: Mystic Ringer.