In this 2013 American thriller directed by Denis Villeneuve it follows the story of the kidnapping of two 6 year old girls Anna and Joy. They disappear one evening and the only lead that they have is an old motorhome parked on this suburbian street that the girls previously were playing on. Keller Dover (Hugh Jackman), Anna's dad, decides to take the search for his daughter into his own hand after Detective Loki (Jake Gyllenhaal), the head of the case, lets their only suspect (the motorhome driver) go.
On a quiet suburban street following a boozy thanksgiving afternoon two little girls Anna and Joy go missing and the Dover's and Birch's lives are turned upside down as they start the hunt for their little girls. The film follows the struggle that the parents go through as they try to uncover the truth and do everything they can to get their daughters back: especially Keller who bends his morals for the truth. The idea of sin and guilt is pushed to the limits in this film as it asks the question: how far would you go for your children? Keller presents a character who plans for the worst (with has basement packed with supplies to prepare for the extreme) and uses violence to find his daughter. Franklin (Terrence Howard), Joy's dad, tries to use violence to find his daughter but the guilt and lack of redemption that he could receive from God means he struggles to use violence and push the limits.
The film keeps plenty of people as suspects to the kidnapping throughout, keeping the viewers guessing at the possibilities of what could have happened and adding to the suspenseful nature of the film. The main suspect that we meet near the beginning of the film is Alex Jones (Paul Dano) the learning-impaired motorhome driver, whose vehicle we see the girls playing on a few hours before they went missing. Paul Dano gives an incredible performance making us feel scared of him but also feel sorry for him as the film goes on.
Denis Villeneuve packs this film with Christian symbolism from the outset. What at first seems to be quite overused and not fitting with the plot becomes clear towards the end, and presents the way it mirrors the plot. In the opening scene we see Keller and his son Ralph (Dylan Minnette) deer hunting as his son shoots the deer, Keller narrates the scene with a Biblical verse opening the film with the Christian symbolism that is evident in many other scenes.
Hugh Jackman gives an incredible performance as Keller Dover portraying the struggle and pain that he goes through to find his daughter. Keller himself is a very messed up character and one interesting theme that is presented in this film is that the line between the good guys and the villains is blurred, as every character in the film has something they are working through. Jackman does an amazing job at presenting this side of the character as even though we are rooting for him to find his daughter it doesn't make what he is doing right. In my opinion the greatest performance in the film is Jake Gyllenhaal as Detective Loki. Loki was such an interesting character to watch and as a viewer we felt the struggle that he was dealing with alongside him as he tries to solve the case. Whenever Gyllenhaal and Jackman had a scene together the intensity in the acting and the dialogue was gripping.
'Prisoners' is one to watch. The suspense and secrets that are unravelled throughout the film behind the truth of the girls disappearance and the many other mysteries that are brought up keep you leaning closer and focusing on every small detail- turning the viewer into a detective. I would argue that despite the long run time of the film (2h 34m) the intensity between the characters and the consistently building tension in each scene keep you interested and hooked.
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