Rating of
4/4
Review: Prisoners
MikePA - wrote on 11/14/13
Mysteries nowadays rarely establish the perfect atmospheric uneasiness that Prisoners, an absorbing and thought-provoking motion picture, does. An arguable exception could be made for this year's Side Effects, which was good but not exactly as terrific as it could have been. From its outstanding cinematography to its exceptionally relentless yet grounded performances, Prisoners is an excellent film. Immediately engaging, tension-heavy, dark, disturbing, and oozing with intensity, the film breaks through the gates as one of the best to be released all year.
The film was directed by Denis Villeneueve, who had made the almost equally excellent film Incendies a few years back. He really knocks it out of the park with Prisoners. Here is a film that grabs you both viscerally and emotionally, holds you by the neck and refuses to release its grasp until the end-credits come rolling along. The film is way over two hours in length, but in the end, it undeniably justifies its duration. Yes, the film moves rather slow, but I feel that it was paced that way on purpose because it treats matters realistically. This is a slow process, and the more twists and complications that show up, the more slow, confusing, and tense the process becomes. However when you're hooked to it, which you undeniably will be, the film's length no longer matters.
Roger Deakins' astounding cinematography sets the tone of the film right from the get-go. It's dark and brooding without a single light touch in sight. If you're not riveted by the storytelling and characterizations (which I don't see why you wouldn't be...), you'll at least be struck by the stunning look of the film. I also want to mention that the makeup design is pretty awesome. Random thing to note, I know. But one of the major characters get beaten half to death on several occasions, and the prosthetic work done on his face to showcase how brutally he's been beaten is really, really great. And yucky.
Through Villeneueve's taut direction, the film consistently keeps you on edge. It's a film that keeps you riveted by dialogue and performances, rather than action and explosions. The film legitimately gets better and better, scene by scene, as it progresses. The work by the actors is so powerful and the dialogue is written so excellently. You just need to know what's going to happen. You'll be dying to know!!! And soon you'll realize, only 45 minutes have passed by. When you think it's going to be over, it gets even more exciting. That's what I really liked about the final reveal. It was completely unexpected and everything prior to that moment was so well handled. And that powerful sequence builds to something even more powerful, concluding with the most unforgettable piece of audio I've heard in a film all year.
Jesus... it reads as if I'm literally salivating over this thing.
Nothing more or less can be said about this work from Hugh Jackman, Jake Gyllenhaal, and especially Paul Dano, than outstanding. Hugh Jackman is amazing as the loving father slowly being driven nuts by this investigation. While he's not literally "mad," you can see in his eyes that he's being forcefully driven to that point. When he erupts and violence strikes, it's terrifying. Bravo, Wolverine. Jake Gyllenhaal disappears into Detective Loki. His character, for the most part, is much more subtle and calm, which he pulled off really well. Paul Dano gives the most fascinating (and possibly the best in the film) performance as Alex Jones, the man originally accused of kidnapping the two girls. He has the I.Q. of a ten-year-old. He very rarely speaks, but when he does he's difficult to understand, for the most part. But Dano brings something complex and riveting to his portrayal that I found really great.
I admired the work by Maria Bello, Viola Davis, and Terrence Howard, who all play the other parents of the two girls. Think of this: having a missing child is a million times more scarier than having a child pass away. That's because of the uncertainty. Part of you thinks that the child is fine and they're going to come running home soon enough. While another part thinks that the child could possibly be dead, which is a horrible thing to think, but I'm sure it's somewhere in their mind. And based on their physical performance, the three performers, and even Jackman for that matter, convey that feeling of uncertainty dangling in their mind very well.
Prisoners is a great film. Amazing cinematography, outstanding performances, taut storytelling, and consistently great and riveting moments. It resonates emotionally, and in the end delivers the powerhouse punch you wanted.
4/4
