Cleverly mounted, intricately plotted and frighteningly paced out – the new Jake Gyllenghal, Hugh Jackman starrer “Prisoners” is in one word what we call a “Mind-bending Morality Puzzle”. This labyrinthian of a thriller directed by debutante Denis Villeneuve, is a brilliant whodunit with a strong moral agenda, revolving around a couple of child kidnappings taking place in the streets of Pennsylvania.
Many Child Abduction thrillers were released in the past – David Fincher’s “Se7en”, Jonathan Demme’s “Silence of The Lambs” and more-recently Ben Affleck’s “Gone Baby Gone”. But what makes Denis’s film different, is the way in which he treats such a sensitive issue via old school melodrama, while simultaneously shrouding it with a gripping, deeply disturbing morality puzzle – which involves with religious beliefs, symbolism, ethical and moral principles and/or the angst cum perseverance a father undergoes in finding out his missing children.( I even enjoyed that fabulous Dutch seminal classic “Spoorloos: The Vanishing” which also centered on a similar abduction plot)
On a rainy, grayish day – while a pair of idyllic suburban families - The Dovers and The Birches - meets together in their Pennsylvania residence on the occasion of Thanksgiving – their two young daughters go missing following a mishap. With a solid hint by their sides – An old-looking RV vehicle -, Keller Dover, played by Hugh Jackman calls up on Detective Howard Loki played by Jake Gyllenghal, to look into the matter.
The Primary suspect here is Alex Jones - the hereditary owner of the RV vehicle parked outside the parking lot where the kids were supposedly playing - played by Paul Dano. Alex has the IQ of only a 10 year old and Loki based up on the interrogations with the man, comes to terms with him and thereby dismisses the suspect’s involvement by pointing the finger at the very logic of that implausible feat – “How can a man with a 10-year old’s IQ, abduct two children in broad day-light.?” to his superiors and to Dover, the father of the kid.
Despite having a 100% success rate and a good knack of sniffing out clues, Dover becomes disillusioned with Loki’s approach and takes the law & order into his bare hands by abducting Alex from his aunt’s house for questioning him.!.
Convinced that Alex is responsible for his daughter’s disappearance, Dover, in a sequence of terrifying exchanges, keeps Alex hostage in an isolated bungalow in the countryside and goes “for all-out torture mode” on the poor kid, in-order to extract every little information possible from him – which will eventually lead the father to his missing kids. What unearths in the 2 hours or so, is a nail-biting whodunit/morality piece which keeps you on the edge of your seats & leaves you with plenty to ponder with some genuine butterflies in your abdomen.
The biggest asset’s of “Prisoners” are the breathtakingly sublime screenplay(the dialogues esp) penned by the director Denis in collaborations with Aron Guzikowski of Contraband and the expertly photographed visuals courtesy the “then famous Coen Brother’s collaborator” - & the always reliable - Roger Deakins.
You may route for better screenplays this year but I believe “Prisoners” worked on multiple levels - Its makers had the near impossible job of lacing out a thriller with a genuinely aching morality piece on the one hand and marry it with a chillingly original whodunit with layers of plots and multiple subplots on the other. The screenwriter guides the audience through various intricate plotlines here - One involving Loki’s confidential investigations, second involving Dover’s own personal investigations and third featuring the emotions of the families, empathy & melancholia – which makes the 70’s soap opera look-like some “diggli doggly” “eephie oophie” kind of a thing(Means its far superior).
In one of the movie’s best written bits – we see Dover and Loki arguing over Alex’s involvement in the case and even though the former seems absolutely certain, the latter tries to convince him with paradoxes of the labyrinth.
Detective Loki, sitting in the Driver’s seat - “ Mr. Dover, you haven’t gone home for 3 days. I need you to take care of yourself and your wife and leave the rest to me - that’s the best thing you can do right now. That little girl is gonna need you when she comes home”
Keller Dover, repeatedly beating up the cop car’s dash board - “ Detective. It’s been 6 days since my kid’s not home. And everyday she’s wondering why I’m not there to fking rescue her. Every day. Not you, but ME. So forgive me for not going home and have a “good night’s rest**”
I was also particularly impressed with the level of acting being showcased here – its top notch. He may be known for playing “wolverine” in X-Men comics but Hugh Jackman reveals tremendous acting depth as the young girl’s father – Keller Dover - a sort of figurehead/person who will go even to the far end with the prime object of finding out his missing daughters - even if that ‘far end’ requires him to “keep the suspects on a gun-point” - thereby protecting his family in the process(Think of Liam Neeson from Taken with a French moustache and a brooding sense of demeanor).
Terrence Howard and Viola Davis are soothing presences as Mr & Mrs. Birches, the second family whose sole daughter “Anna” went missing. Maria Bello albeit in a one-dimensional role, gives us an angelic mother who, despite sobbing her way through, protects her only son from every possible danger, ever since the former went missing. Melisa Leo is a powerhouse here even in an understated role “Holy Jones” - the fragile & weakened by age, acting mother/aunt of Alex Jones. Paul Dano plays Alex, the suspect with a 10-year old IQ – a kind of demented off-spring of Dustin Hoffman’s from 1989’s Rain Man – with utmost conviction & child-like earnestness.
But the film, for most part, belongs to Jake Gyllenghal as the shrewd and bewildered detective Loki – the cop with a back-story and a future. Loki had this impossible task of shepherding us through this whodunit, while simultaneously keep a balance with the films unforgettable morality theme - without ever taking going too preachy and/or too hypocritical or idealistic for all parties concerned. They are all outstanding. It’s movie heaven to watch this cast at work and although Denis’s direction goes a touch overlong at the penultimate moments, he delivers a strong Oscar worthy debut.(In some of the frames early on, Gyllenghal looked like the seemingly 4th generation son of Michael Corleone from the first Godfather film produced way back in the 70’s).
The film also benefits immensely from Roger Deakins’s astounding imagery, which sets the tone for the entire affair with a brooding atmosphere needed for hypnotic thriller married with such easy-on-the-eye eloquence and pristine beauty of the countryside - something which I haven’t seen in films since 2007’s Dave Fincher film titled “Zodiac”(It’s like watching Michael Jackson dance in the fog).
If the film fails in any case then it has to do with its meandering concluding act and some minor yet shockingly stupid plot holes which calls into question the very logic of the so-called investigation – It doesn’t seem like an investigation conducted by a person with 100% track record - conducted by two individuals residing in different sides of the law and order.
What I didn’t fully understand throughout the film is. How can a primary suspect not even get police protection and if so how can the cops could afford to be so irresponsible & callous since they know that their only suspect can fall prey to Dover’s bare hands, since the father is waiting for a chance to pounce up on his victim & take vengeance - any where, any second of his life.? This ridiculous yet minor plot hole can be ignored – no matter how foolish it actually look like - since it only serves up to fill only one aspect of this movie – the investigation part and not the morality part.
Yes, that’s right. Prisoners raises a highly subjective & pertinent morality question – Is Violence the Right or Wrong approach to extract truth from people – without ever going too hypocritical or overtly preachy and simultaneously succeeds big time in giving us a hard-hitting, nail-biting drama about characters under severe rage & strange predicaments – one that you can’t get out your minds even after hours post the lights went off and the curtains rolled over. I tip this film to win big prizes - Best Picture & Best supporting cast - come Oscar Night – in February 2014 where the 86th Annual academy awards will be anounced. 4 out of 5. Two Thumbs up. Don’t miss it.?
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