Lets get this right out of the way for Prisoners: It is not a happy a movie. If youre expecting a good time or to come out with a smile on your face, this is not your type of movie. But even if a film is horribly depressing, that doesnt mean you shouldnt watch it if given the chance. Far from it with something like Prisoners, the English language debut of Canadian director Denis Villeneuve (Incendies). While its grueling content and odd plot points may cause some contention with viewers, Prisoners delivers on damn near every cylinder you should expect to see in a good mystery: Excellent performances, a plot that keeps you guessing till the very end, haunting cinematography and some interesting debates on morality and what one would do and how far they would go to save a loved one. Somewhere in Pennsylvania, Thanksgiving shared between two families is going on. The two families, The Dovers (Hugh Jackman playing Keller and Maria Bello playing Grace) and The Birches (Viola Davis playing Nancy and Terrence Howard playing Franklin) are laughing, chowing down tasty food and just having a good time together. A few hours latter, the two youngest disappear into, what seems to be, thin air. An investigation is soon kicked into motion and headed by Detective Loki (Jake Gyllenhaal) to find out what happened to them. Eventually, they find a suspect in the form of mentally handicapped Alex Jones (Paul Dano). But due to the fact there is a lack of evidence on whether he took them or not, he winds up being released. Keller Dover (Jackman), however, becomes increasingly unstable over the course of the investigation, resorting to his own (brutal) methods to find out if Alex actually did it or not. So, yes, as one can tell from that vague synopsis, Prisoners isnt what one would call a feel good movie. On top of that, it isnt one that goes by quick. It fully expects you to sit down and watch as it takes you on a long journey of what its like to have a child taken from you. Whether you have or havent had kids, you feel steeped in the misery and horror of what the parents go through in the film. Another interesting note to make is that in addition to being a Drama-Mystery-Thriller, the film is also a play on morality. Most of the characters never stay clean for long, especially Hugh Jackmans character, who pulls some especially dickish things to find his kid. Even as the film went as on, I found myself conflicted with his character, wanting him to find the girls but I wished hed stop being such an ass. The film itself and its characters are even asking themselves if what theyre doing is justified or not. What I found interesting about the film is that you never really know whos who or what till the end. For the majority of the films running time, it keeps you guessing on whether Alex did it or not. Is he playing stupid? Does he genuinely not know what happened to the kids? Was he manipulated into doing what he did? Its like being in a maze, a nightmarish labyrinth from where there is no escape from until the very end. The films performances are uniformly excellent, with Hugh Jackman showing us a scary side of his acting abilities that we havent seen before. His character shows a broad range of anger, ruthlessness and regret. The rest of the supporting cast also give great performances as well. Jake Gyllenhaal continues to be one of the best actors working today, with an almost equally compelling side role as the determined Detective Loki. Terrence Howard and Paul Dano bring their goods to the table as well, as does Maria Bello and Viola Davis. Melissa Leo also shows up as Alex Jones Aunt, Holly, and while she doesnt have that many scenes in the film, she is compelling enough to keep an admirable presence on-screen. Even the kids who play Joy and Anna (Kyla Drew Simmons and Erin Gerasimovich, respectively) do their roles without some kind of saccharine or sickly-sweet kind of way that one would usually expect from kids in movies. Shot by famous cinematographer Roger Deakins (The Shawshank Redemption), Prisoners looks unsurprisingly beautiful in its imagery. Damn near every frame looks downright perfect, with scenes that look like they were molded by a paint brush rather than a camera. Denis and Deakins obviously know what theyre doing, and I hope that they collaborate more in the future. . If there were any problems I had with the film, Id say it would be some plot elements. How the film handles its clues, foreshadowing and red-herrings, in which it maybe just a little too clever for its own good. Its great to see a film keep its audience guessing all the way through and then pull the rug under their feet when they least expect it and I love those types of movies, but I can understand how some viewers may not like it. Not that it was a major hindrance to the films quality, but I can see how some would be fed up with the plot twists and the loopty loops the film pulls from time to time. Also, if youre someone like me that generally tends to pick up the smaller details to a major outcome, you may find the plot to be a little predictable. Dont get me wrong, I did not guess the ending and there were many more twists and turns between me remembering these little clues, but I did pick up on a few things earlier in the movie that ended up being huge milestone clues in the end that left me feeling a little cheated that they didnt make it a little less obvious. Regardless, Prisoners is more than worth checking out. Its imagery, performances and plot wont leave you for a while and it will keep you engaged all the way through its long running time. https://youtube/watch?v=IUSfKQ4xVtc
Posted on: Sun, 27 Apr 2014 17:12:18 +0000