Would
you die for your children or your family?
I admit I don't care for
movies that exploit the audiences emotions by centering on one of the worst
thing a parent can go through. I refused
to watch "Ransom” (1996) when my
daughter was only 3 years-old. My loss,
I guess. "Prisoners" is a disturbing film that keeps you on the
edge of your seat, but ultimately is frustrating. Two families similarly constructed living a
nightmare after their young girls go missing in broad daylight on Thanksgiving Day.
Would you kill for your
family?
Hugh Jackman (“Wolverine,” “Swordfish”) and Maria
Bello (“Payback,” “A History of Violence”)
are the Dovers, Keller, and Grace. Terrance Howard (“Crash,” “Iron Man”), and Viola Davis (“Doubt,” “Solaris”) are Franklin and Nancy Birch. Both have older teen children, but the focus
is on Anna Dover (Erin Gerasimovich), and Joy Birch (Kyla Drew Simmons). The Dovers arrive at the Birch household for Thanksgiving
dinner. All is fun and games until Anna
and Joy disappear after turkey dinner. While
the adults entertain each other at the Birch's, the kids trek a block away back
to the Dover's house to look for Anna's missing pink whistle. After an
initial search by the families, the Dover’s teenage son, Ralph (Dylan Minnette),
mentions to Keller, that earlier in the day, the girls were playing on an old
beat-up RV.
What would you do if your child was missing?
An All Points Bulletin
goes out, and Detective Loki (Jake Gyllenhaal – “End of Watch,” “Rendition”) turns out to be very close to the RV. Inside is the confused and child-like Alex
Jones played convincingly by Paul Dano (“There
Will Be Blood,”). After no sign of
Anna and Joy, no evidence of their abduction in the RV, and after the legal
limit the police can hold a suspect, Alex is set free.
This film, on one hand
is a detective thriller, while on the other hand it becomes a psychological
thriller. Loki is the detective that
always solves his cases using a balance of logic, hard work, and a bit of brute
force. After a few days Jackman's
character, Keller, decides that, he knows better how to find his children rather than
Det. Loki.
Alex lives with his aunt
Holly (Melissa Leo - “Oblivion,”
“The Fighter”), a quiet and seemingly god-fearing woman. Keller is a carpenter, and as a carpenter, he
tends to use a hammer or brute force on everything. He kidnaps Alex and takes him to his old
house, and tortures him. He gets very
little out of him, as Alex seems to be of diminished capacity. Keller brings Franklin and then Nancy in
on his decent into madness. Loki, chases
leads and clues and in some cases seemingly red herrings. Time is slipping away.
What bothered me about
the character of Keller Dover is for all the talk of being prepared for all
misfortunes, he is unable to take accountability for his own actions. During the torture sessions with Alex, he
constantly tells him that it is Alex's fault that he must beat him. Keller tells Loki that it is Loki's fault that
his child hadn't been found, and that his wife, Maggie stays in bed all day,
depressed. Instead of realizing that
there are just some situations too big for one man, cooperate with the police,
and help keep the moral of his family up, and be there when they need him. He goes off on his own misguided sense of justice. Time is ticking away.
The Birch family is not
much better. They refuse to help in the
beatings, but they won't stop Keller in his nightly sessions. Meanwhile, Loki continues to put pieces
together. The film is about who thin the family unit can be, and how
important family is. Keller’s father
committed suicide. Alex's uncle just disappeared
one day, and Loki, was brought up by the state.
With Keller obsessed with beating the location of his daughter out of
Alex, his wife slips deeper into depression.
The characters that Jackman
and Gyllenhaal play are strong and sharply defined. Both Keller and Loki show that they have brains
and brawn, but in opposite amounts. Bello
spends a good deal of time in bed, as she denies that something bad has
happened to her family. In many ways,
she pushes her husband to do something to protect his family and find his
daughter. Terrance Howard's character,
although weaker, asks the questions that we all wonder about throughout the
film-- what if you are wrong. Viola
Davis takes the middle road, not willing to stand up for the law, because she
just wants her child back. Who could
blame her?
Melissa Leo's Holly is
seen sporadically throughout the film. However
she is convincing in her belief on "waging a war against God" after
their child died of cancer. "Prisoners"
is also about faith or a lack thereof. Keller
whispers the Lord's Prayer several times, but takes vengeance upon him. Loki has faith in himself and his abilities. When he is about to give up, he takes one
more look at random clues and starts tying them together.
We have faith that
Canadian director; Denis Villeneuve ("Incendies," "Polytechnique") will bring us, the audience, to a
satisfying end. Jóhann Jóhannsson's
score is driving and unnerving at the same time. Aaron Guzikowski's ("Contraband") script plays fair with the
audience. He brings up clues throughout
the story and allows the audience to process them for themselves. Villeneuve does a great job bringing us a truly atmospheric thriller, and
although he only hints at a certain conclusion, the most part of the film is on
the money.
Movie Data
Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Year: 2013
Staring: Hugh Jackman, Jake Gyllenhaal, Viola Davis, Maria Bello, Terrence Howard, Melissa Leo, Paul Dano, Zoe Soul
Director: Denis Villeneuve
Producer(s): Kira Davis, Broderick Johnson, Adam Kolbrenner, Andrew A. Kosove, Mark Wahlberg (exec)
Writer: Aaron Guzikowski
Rating: R
Running Time: 153 minutes
Release Date: 9/20/2013
