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@mind_of_a_nerd
@thefilmobservatory
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I think this movie confirms one thing if everyone did not already know it. Never take Wolverine's kid or kill his dog. So Prisoners is Directed by Dennis Villeneuve and tells the story of a father and a police officer both trying to find two children that have been kidnapped. So here begins my short review series of reviews featuring most of the films directed by Dennis Villeneuve leading up to Dune in October. I have never seen most of his films. I think the only one I have seen is Blade Runner 2049. So this review series is going to be interesting to see how I view all of his movies on first time watches and if they are all as good as this, I think I’m going to be just fine. Prisoners is an absolutely amazing movie. It is excellently crafted, emotionally investing and overall just fantastic. The vibe of the movie is a lot like Zodiac and I honestly loved it.
The acting in this movie is so good that you have to see it to believe it. Hugh Jackman is absolutely incredible in this movie. This might be my favorite performance of his other than Logan. He is just phenomenal. Jake Gyllenhaal as well is phenomenal. Both of these leads keep this movie as interesting as it is. The rest of the cast is great as well. Viola Davis as usual is great. Terrance Howard was also a standout as well as Maria Bello. The movie is shot wonderfully and you always feel like you are there with the characters. The story is also very engaging and unpredictable. I legit was surprised by the ending and where everything concluded. Lastly I want to talk about the title Prisoners. I love that it actually means something and what it does end up meaning is really dark and twisted and I love that. My only real negative with this movie is the pacing in spots. I don’t think the movie has bad pacing but at times I was getting a little restless. Other than that guys I love Prisoners. I think this is an excellent movie from start to finish and I am going to give Prisoners a 9.5/10
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4.5/5
Thriller/Mystery
After the abduction of his daughter and his friends’ daughter, strong-willed Keller Dover’s (Hugh Jackman) darker sides emerge more apparent, as he joins the hunt to rescue them and bring the kidnapper responsible to cold justice.
French-Canadian director Denis Villeneuve burst onto the scene in 2013 with his first English-language picture, and the result was quite remarkable. The greatest strength of Prisoners is that it does not let up – my heart was constantly racing, and Villeneuve’s demonstrates a relentless ability to build up tension, and make the audience feel uncomfortable. Prisoners is a thematically dark film, exploring how far a kind parent can go in such a psychologically stressful and intense situation. While Dover’s quest takes dark turns for his personality and morality, the film really makes the viewer wonder if they could go to the same lengths in a similar extremity. I’m not sure if anybody in this film is a purely good person; everybody has flaws that are amplified by the horrifying events, making Prisoners feel more like a character study than just an abduction thriller. While both Villeneuve’s Prisoners and Blade Runner 2049 are good films, the distinctive director’s focus on character and the building of tension, in the former, are the qualities that have led to me personally preferring it. (I bring up Blade Runner 2049 as it’s the last film that I’ve reviewed before this).
Since the exploration of characters is one of the best parts of this movie, I’ll start by discussing the performances. JAKE GYLLENHAAL… he never turns in a bad performance. While the narrative focus is perhaps more on Dover, Gyllenhaal’s Detective Loki steals the show for me. He’s the one who has supposedly solved every single case he’s ever had. The film also follows his emotional journey, as he becomes more determined and crazed to find the abducted girls and arrest their captors. However, the case becomes more complicated when a conspiracy seems to emerge about the bigger picture in the kidnapper’s mind. Gyllenhaal is fantastic, striking a line of slightly ambiguous morality mixed in with his general professionalism. Loki largely seems in control but he’s nonetheless prone to his anger taking over, adding an element of erratic unpredictability.
By the end of the film, he acts as an anchor of good in this world of anti-heroes and evil, and the climax of Prisoners… it absolutely keeps your heart racing and Loki’s unbreakable resilience to save everybody that he can makes him somebody that the audience will easily root for. Hugh Jackman is also pretty good, in a more extreme type of role than his usual. As he pushes the boundaries, via both legal and illegal means, he brings a dangerous presence to the film, as it becomes more and more difficult to root for our primary protagonist. The title of the movie is a particularly interesting one, as there is effectively imprisonment on both sides, making the viewer question why one instance may be justified but not the other. Especially when it ends and the plot twists have been revealed, Dover’s actions appear even worse, despite those actions possessing ‘altruistic’ intentions earlier on, at least from his perspective. You see a man cease to sleep and probably eat properly, drowning himself in the drink and becoming a near-monster himself, and by the end of Prisoners, there’s a twisted notion that the villain may have gotten what they wanted in turning Dover into this. Other than maybe his performance as Wolverine, especially in Logan, I personally believe this to be Jackman’s best work.
However, Gyllenhaal and Jackman aren’t the only standouts. Paul Dano is amazing as usual, in an intense role where the audience is constantly left in the dark about the true intentions of his mentally challenged character and doesn’t know for most of the film whether he’s even responsible for the accusations and suggested acts of abuse or not. This makes the audience feel very uncomfortable about Dover’s actions in particular, as they would seem less evil if it was known if he was guilty, but the ambiguity surrounding this… you don’t quite feel in control, when watching Prisoners. The good guys do bad, and the bad guys do worse: it’s largely a paradoxical question of which character fits into which category. And does sympathy towards our protagonists in their situation allow for justification and forgiveness? The religious imagery present is another interesting aspect, relating to Dover’s beliefs. While the film begins with Dover praying, Prisoners could be interpreted as a story of a man losing focus of his faith, and his moral compass along with it. He doesn’t leave it up to that which he believes in, but rather takes things into his own hands, and those things, as could be expected, just get messier from there.
Terence Howard and Viola Davis, as the distressed parents of one of the kidnapped girls, are both on form but their fame doesn’t become distracting. Howard and Davis are slightly underused, as they aren’t given as much screentime as Jackman but their talent shines through and they fit into the dark tone, giving realistic portrayals of the anxiety and emotional chaos that any parents would be experiencing. David Dastmalchian continues his trend of playing psychologically disturbed characters, and gives a good performance, despite a short amount of screen-time. I do worry a bit about Dastmalchian getting typecast because he’s a strong performer but only seems to get granted these kinds of minor roles, aside from his recent appearance as Polka-Dot Man in The Suicide Squad. He brings an interesting, alternative presence to Hollywood that deserves further recognition and commendation.
Villeneuve is also a master of subtlety: he treats his audience with respect and doesn’t act like they’re stupid. The effect of this can be cast by the smallest details, like a scene where there are some pills lying at the bedside of the mother of Dover’s daughter, presumably for sleeping or treating anxiety. It may not sound important but the camera fixates on the pills enough for the audience to then understand (MINOR SPOILER) the police’s thinking when she reports a minor disturbance but no evidence of it is found. A less competent director may have whacked their audience over the head by directing referencing the pills in a section of dialogue. These kinds of small details are things that directors must think carefully about, and they can build up to be surprisingly significant in the success of a film. (TO SAY THAT IT EVEN COUNTS AS A MINOR SPOILER WOULD BE THE OVERSTATEMENT OF THE YEAR BUT BE WARNED THAT THE FOLLOWING FEW LINES REFERENCE THE ENDING SCENE). The final scene is another jaw-dropping example of Villeneuve’s genius, and an unforgettable one, because of how magnificently crafted it is; the stakes have built up to the moment, and it pays off earlier scenes that introduced something that seemed initially insignificant (Chekhov’s Gun Theory), while also forcing the viewer right to the edge of their seats, as they impatiently wait for a character to notice something extremely vital, ending on that iconic shot of Gyllenhaal’s Loki. Be prepared for goosebumps galore.
Jóhann Jóhannsson delivers a swooping, sombre score that induces a constant feeling of uneasiness. Reflective of the dread felt by characters in each scene, it always conveys the dark tone of the film, due to the horrifying subject matter but also the creeping fears of futility that the protagonists become prey too. As much as I love Hans Zimmer, it’s great to see such an impressive score from a different, less-established composer, so as to allow newer talent to grow and thrive. Roger Deakins’ cinematography is another highlight, as usual, and displays dramatic use of lighting to heighten tension and add to uneasy, ambiguous atmospheres. Certain shots are particularly haunting, and others cleverly represent the different power dynamics between characters. When Paul Dano’s character (MINOR SPOILER) is trapped, there seems to only be a small sliver of light shining through to him, as Dover is literally and metaphorically blocking out the rest for him, and consequently his freedom and rights. Other smart tactics from Deakins include the low-key lighting often being contrasted with harsh flood-lights, to represent the lack of calm and comfortability for the protagonists. Prisoners is a well-crafted film, but there is unfortunately one significant flaw, for me.
Despite Prisoners largely being a character piece, I felt that we didn’t get the fullest picture of Gyllenhaal’s Loki that could’ve been portrayed. As his determination became fervent, it felt as though there must have been a traumatic past that meant that this case was striking a chord for our detective protagonist. While Gyllenhaal’s performance does more than enough to ignore this, there could have been more backstory given to explain why he is the way he is. However, Loki isn’t necessarily meant to be the ‘main character’ so perhaps this problem is ironically derived from the fact that Gyllenhaal possesses such immense talent and eats up every scene, ultimately stealing a show that isn’t supposed to be predominantly dedicated to him. Prisoners is a very good film but there could have been more background and earlier points of development for our protagonists, so as to fully sympathise with and understand their actions, good or bad.
There are some qualities to be refined but Prisoners is a great film, with a story that Villeneuve takes to another level. Its central mystery sustains the thrills, while the simple plot packs deceptively complicated themes, and the film showcases some powerhouse performances. I would highly recommend Prisoners to fans of thrillers and character pieces, and also to Gyllenhaal’s stans.
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