Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
Cast: Hugh Jackman, Jake Gyllenhaal, Viola Davis, Mario Bello, Terrance Howard, Melissa Leo, Paul Dano, Dylan Minnette, Zoe Borde, Erin Gerasimovich, Kyla Drew Simmons, Wayne Duvall, Len Cariou, David Dastmalchian, Jeff Pope.
There is nothing more emotionally complex or disturbing than the chance that your child may be taken from you by a person or person’s unknown. Just the thought of it is enough to give people nightmares and keep their children under close supervision. Denis Villeneuve takes this fear and gives it added depth, unblemished and raw treatment to make the thriller genre stand up and take notice of how these sensitive subjects should be approached in the film Prisoners.
Hugh Jackman stars as the father of one of the missing girls and gives the film the abundant intensity of character which is matched by all who share the screen. The film asks just how far would you go in the search to find your child, would you descend to the level of those that perpetrated the crime and take the matter of justice into your own hands? Unlike other films that deal with the harrowing subject of kidnapping, this is not sensationalised, it is brutal; the disturbing nature of the crime is magnified and given serious management in which you question your own judgment.
With the brooding talent of Jake Gyllenhaal as Detective Loki stalking the film like a man just as possessed as the person who commits the crime, the two lead parts complement each other very well and it is difficult to know just whose side you are on.
Prisoners should be considered as a great example of 21st Century suspense thrillers, its close camera work in small enclosed places is a cinema-goers dream, the feel of dread that accompanies each shot is enough to make the viewer feel the sweat begin to gather at the top of the temple and the palms of the hands become clammy and damp as the film progresses. The script never wanders and all the time holds the attention in a way that is enjoyable and creepy at the same time. Whereas some thrillers meander along and lose their way in plot holes, Prisoners makes the absolute most of what is available, a great cast in which no matter how excellent an actor Hugh Jackman is, he didn’t overpower the entire film.
Prisoners is so far the finest thriller of 2013, a delight of a screenplay by Aaron Guzikowski and perfectly captured in full by Denis Villeneuve. Well worth every penny that it takes to attend.
Ian D. Hall