Hugh Jackman and Jake Gyllenhaal star in child
abduction thriller Prisoners, one of the best films of the year
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| © 2013 - Warner Bros. Pictures |
In his first English-language film Prisoners, Canadian director
Denis Villeneuve poses an ugly question to traditional America: If someone abducted
your children, how far would you go to get them back? When the justice system
lets you down, are you free to take justice into your own hands?
Torture has preoccupied American cinema since the twin towers came down
in 2001. In the hit TV series 24 torture-happy
Jack Bauer rests at nothing to obtain national security with an “ends justify the
means" approach. In Taken, Father figure Liam Neeson sets about tracking
down his daughter after she is kidnapped by human traffickers. Prisoners’ torture theme risks feeling all too familiar alongside
recent action thrillers such as these. However the film manages to tap into elemental
human emotions in a raw way, which makes the viewing more realistic and
disturbing than anything we’ve seen before.
Hugh Jackman plays Keller Dover, a deeply religious working-class
patriarch bent on reckoning. When his daughter and her friend go missing on
Thanksgiving, he takes matters into his own hands as the police pursue multiple
leads to no avail. In secret, Dover abducts, imprisons and tortures
the man he believes is responsible, Alex Jones, whose RV was last seen parked on the
street where the girls were playing. Jake Gyllenhaal is Detective Loki, a lead cop
investigating the missing persons, who suspects Hugh Jackman’s character is up to
no good. After confronting more suspects he finds a trail of breadcrumbs that lead to a labyrinth of
similar stories of stolen children.
Prisoners is a moody tale with a sense of portent and
impending dread that makes for an absorbing viewing. At a little under three
hours, the film never feels too long and is compelling throughout mainly given
the subject matter, which demands emotional investment. Veteran cinematographer
Roger Deakins has a real talent for visual
composition and frames every shot with dark lighting, lots of rain and a
brooding atmosphere that is beautifully ominous. There's not a ray of
sunshine onscreen. You can almost breathe the foggy air of the film.
There is a learned maturity to this type of filmmaking. Its tone is
different than most and it moves slower than your average thriller, which adds
to the tension of the narrative. An A-list cast gives fine performances, particularly
the two male leads who, although cast peculiarly against type, fit into their
roles perfectly. Their key relationship is kept on slow burn
through precise plotting and careful revelations. Both leads are enthralling to follow; Jackman portrays
a moral complexity untouched in his previous roles, while Gyllenhaal is sublime
as the elusive and alone cop who stands for reason.
Prisoners is a morality play cleverly wrapped up in a police procedural.
There is a running theme here that evil begets evil. No one is free from corruption. Superb
performances and tight direction will keep you on the edge of your seat.
Watch clip from Prisoners below...
