Check This
One Out! - Prisoners
Keller Dover: "Pray for the best, but prepare for the
worst."
"Prisoners" is directed by Denis
Villeneuve ("Sicario", "Enemy", "Incendies") and
stars Hugh Jackman as Keller Dover, Jake Gyllenhaal as Detective Loki, Terrence
Howard as Franklin Birch, Viola Davis as Nancy Birch, Maria Bello as Grace
Dover, Paul Dano as Alex Jones, Melissa Leo as Holly Jones, Dylan Minnette as
Ralph Dover, Zoë Soul as Eliza Birch, Erin Gerasimovich as Anna Dover,
Kyla-Drew Simmons as Joy Birch, Len Cariou as Father Patrick Dunn, and Wayne
Duvall as Captain Richard O'Malley.
On a Thanksgiving afternoon, 6-year-olds
Anna Dover and Joy Birch are mysteriously kidnapped. This leaves the four
parents living a nightmare they will never forget. Detective Loki, allegedly
always having solved his assignments, is tasked with bringing back the two
girls. His only lead is a man named Alex Jones, a young adult with the mindset
of a kid, who was seen as the driver of a trailer near the scene of the
kidnapping. Unable to attain evidence that Alex took the kids, Loki is legally
supposed to let him go from holding. Keller Dover, Anna's father and furious as
hell, instantly took action upon Alex after the police freed him. It's a
"how far would you go to save your child or someone you love?"
situation and Keller goes the distance.
Would you tie someone to a furnace and beat the hell out of them to find your children? I mean, many people do it already, but this time it's goal-oriented.
"Prisoners" is the film that solidified
Denis Villeneuve as one of my favorite directors working right now. Although he
doesn't have the extensive filmography that might back me up in my argument,
the quality of his work is always fantastic. This film, especially, is a
reminder to me that teamwork is a crucial part of making a great movie. Alongside
Villeneuve, legendary cinematographer Roger Deakins creates a visual wonder
that is dreary and cold, directly matching the tone of the movie. This is the
first movie that these two talented men have created, the second one being "Sicario"
and the third being the upcoming "Blade Runner 2049". When the
directing and cinematography compenent of a film is nailed, my soft spot for loving
this movie is hit. When I say that the tone of "Prisoners" is dreary
and cold, I mean somber as can be and frozen to the bone. The film starts off
happy, like any other movie, but it goes down the warm fuzzy feeling trail and
never goes back up. I've mentioned in previous reviews that I have a tendency
to watch many dark films. This is a great example of how dark those movies can
go. Real people go through a totally plausible situation and it's really
dependent on the parent to see how far they are willing to go for their kid.
Not saying some love their kids more than others, but, pointing at parents
here, would you torture or potentially kill someone not intelligent enough to
tell you much in order to get an answer? It may or may not be the answer you're
looking for, but could you? Could you and would you? It's easy to say that you
would. However, saying and doing, as we all know, are completely different.
That variable in grounded films is what catches my attention most.
"Prisoners" captures it perfectly and with definite help from the
actors and actresses portraying the hurt parents. I commend Hugh Jackman,
Terrence Howard, Viola Davis, and Maria Bello. These four actors and actresses
have kids. I could only imagine that they got into character by thinking that
their kids were missing. They are all awesome in what they do, but I have a
whole new standard for what each of them do after seeing "Prisoners":
So good, each one of them. I want to stress that this is an intense film.
Sometimes it hurts to watch the talent
oozing out of the film because of how easily you can fill the shoes of one of
the parents. Once again, a reminder of the cooperation that works among cast
and crew.
I have to say that "Prisoners"
is about tied with another Villeneuve film, "Sicario", on my list of
favorite movies of all time. Villeneuve knows the art of cinema and puts a lot
of work going into choosing his cast and the crew he works behind the scenes
with. This particular work of his had me feeling worried about my nonexistent
children. Makes no sense, right? Exactly. I'll warn people again, it's not like
this movie contains overblown violence and sex, but it's a movie that has
realistic violence in a contained setting and a pragmatic mystery that can't be
predicted until the very end. I enjoy the hell out of "Prisoners".
It's a movie that with every watch, you learn more and more, just like a recent
CTOO! I did of "Donnie Darko". Why is Jake Gyllenhaal in the most depressing
and weirdest movies?
"Prisoners" is rated R for disturbing violent content
including torture, and language throughout
Click here to watch the
trailer
"Prisoners" is now available on DVD, Blu-ray, and
digital download
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