PRISONERS - Review

Prisoners

Mystery/Thriller, 2013
2 hours 33 minutes
Written by Aaron Guzikowski
Directed by Denis Villeneuve
Rated R for "disturbing violent content including torture, and language throughout"

Starring
Hugh Jackman
Jake Gyllenhaal
Viola Davis
Terrence Howard
Maria Bello
Paul Dano
Melissa Leo
David Dastmalchain

"Be prepared for the worst, but hope for the best."


Prisoners is pretty fucked up. It's the kind of movie that stays with you long after you've left the theater. It's a tightly written mystery that, despite having a lengthly run-time of 2 1/2 hours, it never slows down.
The film takes place in an ordinary town with an ordinary family. Wolverine plays the central character, a somewhat religious and somewhat overly-cautious father to his older son and young daughter. One day, Wolverine's daughter, along with Terrance Howard's daughter, gets kidnapped. They search high and low, but to no avail. The investigation is headed by Detective Loki (not the bad guy from The Avengers) played by Jake Gyllenhaal. And so it turns into a typical mystery-thriller kind of movie... except Wolverine kidnaps the prime suspect, a mentally challenged man named Alex and tortures him for information. Information which Alex is incapable of giving him.
The film is basically two intersecting stories: Wolverine's morality tale of this kidnapping and his personal investigation, and the detective's actual investigation. The stories obviously intersect and are both equally interesting. And, strangely enough, the whole film feels necessary. There are plenty of interesting, tense, and terrifying twists and turns. I really can't say too much else without giving anything away, but the final moments of the film are really quite incredible.
The performances are excellent, even from it's supporting cast. The movie is full of A-listers, and everybody delivers fantastic performances. It's beautifully shot, intensely edited, and the score is quite haunting.
Really, I don't have a ton to say other than it's most likely on my top 10 list for the year. An excellent movie, but not at all for the faint of heart.

9.6/10