Prisoners: The Should, the Could and the Empty (Film Snob #2)

How far would you go to save your child?

This is one of the many questions asked by director Denis Villeneuve in this terrific mystery thriller. I had never heard of him before, but after watching this film, I eagerly await his reunion with Jake Gyllenhaal in Enemy (releasing in theaters on March 14). But back to Prisoners, where Hugh Jackman turns in a stellar performance as a father searching for his daughter, and Gyllenhaal plays a young detective who is trying to solve a case. Both do terrific acting, as well as most of the cast here, but the cinematography was exceptional (earning an Oscar nod) and the story intricate and absorbing.

Jackman has always turned in great performances, becoming akin to Leonardo DiCaprio as one of the great actors without an Oscar. He’s thrilled us as Wolverine, broken our hearts as Jean Valjean, and now displays probably his most complex role in Prisoners as Keller Dover, a mechanic/contractor. He shows us a strong man with some minor religious convictions, like a lot of American families nowadays, who is brought to his knees when his daughter goes missing. With nothing to go on, he blames one individual, played by Paul Dano (in typical creepy, soft-talking fashion), for the disappearance of his daughter, and begins a descent into the darkness of his own soul as he desperately tries to find his child. Jackman makes you feel that despair, that drive to do something besides aimlessly searching the woods, but at the same time you stand in horror of how far he goes. He was my prime candidate for Best Leading Actor early on before the wave of excellent films at the end of the year. Probably his best scene is when he finds himself trapped, with all hope lost and no way to escape, he finally gives up trying to do it on his own, and cries out with a prayer for God to save his little girl, not once thinking about his own predicament. This shows just how much he loves her, and how excellent Jackman has done.

But the true star of this movie comes in the form of an introverted, twitchy detective named Loki, and portrayed by Jake Gyllenhaal. He seems like a man who runs on caffeine and sleeps in his car a lot, hardly returning to his own living space (which we never see in the film). Whenever he blinks, he does it extremely hard, making you notice (and annoying my wife, but that’s another story). Sleep-deprived but doggedly focused, he answers questions bluntly and does his best to stay calm at all times (with some explosions that make him even more startling). In many ways, he reminds me of L, from the Deathnote manga (if you don’t know what that is, you might want to check in either tomorrow or next Thursday for a “surprise” 451 Kindlings…), which to those that know, is a high honor. We follow him throughout the movie as he follows cold trails, grasps at hazy facts, and tries to locate the missing children while dealing with the overwrought parents. But my favorite scene with Loki comes when he engages in an intense standoff, resulting in a head wound that bleeds into his eye, but he still jumps in his car to drive intensely to his next destination, racing against time while halfway blind. Gyllenhaal throws himself into his role here, epitomizing what he wanted to do in Zodiac (but didn't do as well in). There’s a reason that I gave him Best Supporting Actor in my Best Movies of 2013: he deserved it.

Finally, the story cannot be matched. If you love thrillers such as Se7en, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Usual Suspects, North by Northwest, The Prestige, or Shutter Island (all personal favorites of mine), then you will definitely enjoy the story here. Not only do we have a heavily thematic storyline that follows Jackman’s father who deals with spiritual depravity and emotional trauma, but we have a complex and intense storyline that follows Loki’s detective as he hunts down a serial killer. Yes, not every part of the mystery plot is original in this well-used genre, but it stays interesting and often blindsides you with its twists. But one of the best parts of this story is how everything is interconnected. Many facets of this story can be tied together, if you can see them early on, but I had to take a second viewing to see them.

Prisoners can be exciting, intense and incredibly interesting, but it remains emotionally impactful and really turns the light back on ourselves to ask Would I do that for my child? Another element that I didn’t even discuss is the heavy spiritual theme, which mirrors the great line from the killer near the end of the movie: “Making people disappear is the way we wage war with God. Making children disappear is the way we make people lose their faith.” This film shows the fall of Keller Dover, but ends with him finding his way back to God, even in the pit of complete hopelessness. We see how people will fall under the direst circumstances, but also that it’s never too late to turn back around. I enjoy this movie every time I see it, and I definitely recommend it to mystery lovers or anyone who enjoys a good, mature movie (certainly no preteen and under children, who wouldn’t get the message anyways).

Verdict: You SHOULD see this movie as soon as you can!

P.S. - Right now, it’s really expensive to buy (>$25), which shows that it’s become a sleeper hit on home video, so I’d recommend Redbox or some similar renting service.