Prisoners is a 2013 thriller film directed by Denis Villeneuve and starring Hugh Jackman and Jake Gyllenhall, and it focuses on the kidnapping of two young girls and tracking down the kidnapping, all the while the families of the kidnapped children face complex moral dilemmas throughout the picture. This is a film that has been on my radar for a while, because of the talent involved. Hugh Jackman and Jake Gyllenhall are two remarkable actors and Denis Villeneuve is one of the biggest names in film right now, but I had no idea what this film was about. Now that I've seen it, it exceeded my expectations. This is a remarkable film.
Throughout the entirety of Prisoners, I was engaged and couldn't take my eyes off the screen, and much of that is due to the performances. The cast here is fantastic, especially Hugh Jackman and Jake Gyllenhall, who give two amazing performances. Jackman plays the father of one of the girl who was kidnapped, and he portrays the emotion of this man in utter desperation and anger so well. Throughout the film, his character does some things that make you question his sanity, but they make sense and Jackman portrays the rage in this character perfectly. It's a very "showy" performance with a lot of shouting and such. This performance could've been incredibly distracting, but it strikes the right tone and feels real.
Gyllenhall's performance by comparison is more subdued for the most part. He plays the detective sent out to find these girls, and he does a great job at playing a character whose subtly complex, and much of that is due to his performance. It's the little things Gyllenhall does with this performance that make the character more interesting. None of it feels out of place, and it develops with the story. He does have a couple of scenes where he does get into that showy zone, but it fits when he does it. He really only has those moments when it's necessary, and he plays them so well.
The story is also a very interesting one. It takes many turns that I did not see coming (NOTE: I'm bad at guessing plot twists, so take from that what you will) and it continues to build on the tension of the last scene. This movie is long, at about 2 and-a-half hours, and you never feel its run-time because of the films raw intensity that grows and the twists just add to engrossing nature of this movie. It's extremely hard to watch and I almost had to turn away in parts, but I couldn't keep my eyes off the screen. What these characters do is really terrible sometimes, but it raises questions of morality tied into a fascinating story. These questions of morality tie in perfectly to the story, and don't feel forced or unnecessary. If anything, they're the most important of the film and they make you think. I've been thinking about these decisions these characters have made ever since I watched it. It's simply provocative from start to finish.
When it comes down to it, the biggest reason this film works is Denis Villeneuve's masterful direction. This man is one of the best directors working today. His 2016 film Arrival is not just my favorite film of that year, but one of my favorites of all time. He makes this potentially generic, predictable, and possibly boring story into something intriguing and special. He makes sure around every corner, there's something interesting going on. Pretty much all of this film's building intensity comes from how he directs this film. From the time I'm writing this, I've seen the films once, and it was almost two weeks ago now. It's stuck with me so well because Villeneuve is a master of building suspense, and this film proves exactly how good he is with that.
I have very little to say in terms of flaws with this movie, which speaks to how good this film is. Most of my complaints come from the fact that this movie is incredibly draining, and it almost verges on being too much so in parts, but even then, that's more of a minor nitpick than anything. My big problem with this movie comes from the actor who plays Hugh Jackman's son. I thought he was not great here to say the least. Luckily, he's only prominently featured in a few scenes, and the other actors around him are doing a great job, so it isn't a massive complaint. However, it is noticeable and bothered me when he took center stage.
However, that's really it when it comes to complaint. This film has just infected my mind with its questions of morality and its haunting story. The performances are incredible, it has a great score and cinematography, and Denis Villeneuve builds a great story filled with twists and turns throughout, with tension a plenty. Absolutely check this one out. Just let it be known this is NOT one for children and it is extremely hard to watch, and it's emotionally draining.
A
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