Cast: Directed by Denis Villeneuve Story: Analysis: The movie doesn’t waste any time getting to the main plot with the families of Hugh Jackman’s Keller and Terrence Howard’s Franklin meeting for Thanksgiving dinner and the two young girls from within each family vanishing after being seen playing on an RV camper driven by Paul Dano’s Alex Jones. Local detective Jacob Loki (Gyllenhaal) finds and questions Jones, only to realize the troubled man has the mental capacity of a 10-year-old and couldn’t possibly commit the crimes he’s suspected of doing. When Jones is released from jail, the angry Keller stalks and kidnaps him, chaining him to a radiator in his old house with plans to do whatever it takes to get him to talk. With Jones missing, Loki continues to work on the case trying to find anyone who might know the whereabouts of the two girls as Keller and his friend Franklin’s tortures become more extreme. Roughly a half hour into the movie, once Alex is taken hostage, you might think we’re going to spend the rest of the film watching these two fathers beating this mentally-challenged soul within an inch of his life. If you’ve already watched the trailer for “Prisoners,” you certainly might think you already know what’s going to happen. In fact, and this isn’t spoiling anything, the trailer mostly covers what happens in the first 20 to 30 minutes of the movie and there’s literally two more hours of storytelling where a lot happens. This includes seeming tangents that may or may not have a direct correlation to the overall plot such as Loki, while checking in on local sex offenders, finding a drunken priest with a decaying corpse in his basement. Not knowing what’s going to happen definitely works to “Prisoners’” advantage although it’s hard to write about it without potentially spoiling any of the many red herrings and surprise twists that come to the fore over the course of unveiling the mystery behind the girls’ disappearance. Another thing Villeneuve has going for him is his terrific cast, each of them being perfectly suited for their respective roles. Keller Dover is an interesting choice for Jackman, not being your typical protagonist because you can’t always, if ever, get behind what he is doing. The film certainly raises questions about right and wrong as we watch Keller’s tortures of Alex escalate, especially as we follow Gyllenhaal’s Detective Loki trying to solve the case and find other possible suspects and motives. For the most part, Gyllenhaal’s part of the film is infinitely more interesting as we watch him sneaking into houses, not knowing what to expect, one of the aspects of the film that harks back to “Zodiac.” He’s certainly created an interesting character, covered in tattoos with a persistent eye twitch that reflects a dark past we can only imagine. By comparison, there are moments when Jackman’s performance seems a little false because he often takes things over the top, needlessly raising his voice to create more of an impact in his scenes. As Keller’s wife, Maria Bello spends much of the film in bed drugged up and crying, while Viola Davis gets a little more proactive in her husband Franklin’s attempts at getting information, although neither actress is allowed many shining moments. On the other hand, you have Melissa Leo, once again almost unrecognizable as Alex’s Aunt, who as with everything and everyone else, seems to play a smaller role in the overall story until later on. The moody tone created by Villeneuve is underscored by the film’s recurring religious themes and symbolism, right from opening with Keller reciting the Lord’s Prayer. While religion certainly plays a large part in the story, it never feels as if you’re being hit over the head with it even with an organ-heavy score that sounds like it could accompany a church hymnal. As many surprises as “Prisoners” offers, one thing that won’t come as much of a shock is how good every shot and scene looks thanks to Oscar-nominated cinematographer Roger Deakins. Somehow the film is able to pull together all the diverse elements introduced during its first 90 minutes into a riveting last act—despite the long running time, you never really feel as if you’ve invested two and a half hours of your time because so much happens—though the way the film ends may frustrate a few viewers, going for the “you decide what happens next” ending rather than resolving everything with a nice tightly-knit bow. The Bottom Line: Show Comments |
