Prisoners: Review

The plot for prisoners sounded slightly like a more dramatized version of 2008's Taken. A man's daughter is kidnapped, and he does whatever is needed in order to get her back. But Prisoners has a very different tone to the Liam Neeson action-movie, and is no worse off because of it. 

As stated, the basic plot of Prisoners is that Keller Dover (Hugh Jackman) goes with his family to a friend's house to celebrate Thanksgiving. His friend Franklin (Terrence Howard) has a young daughter who is the same age as Keller's. Whilst the adults are drinking alcohol and being merry, their daughters make a quick trip back to Keller's house to collect a small whistle his daughter owns, and do not return. The rest of the film is two tense hours of Keller trying to find his daughter, with Detective Loki (Jake Gyllenhaal) leading the investigation into her disappearance. 

Keller Dover (Hugh Jackman)

Notice how I said "Keller trying to find his daughter". The first minor issue I had with Prisoners is that the film focuses almost entirely on one family's side of events, rarely showing how Franklin's family is dealing with the disappearance of their daughter. This was only a minor gripe I had with the movie, but something that stuck in my mind throughout it's reasonably long run-time.

Regardless of this though, there are many things that Prisoners does right. Hugh Jackman's acting as a distressed Father willing to put anything on the line to find his daughter is captivating from start to end, and it always feels as if the actions he carries out are justified, although not always morally right. Jake Gyllenhaal as the experienced detective on the case is just as entertaining to watch, along with many of the other cast members. Paul Dano plays the mentally handicapped Alex Jones, a lead suspect in the case, and the film becomes particularly tough to watch at times due to the way Keller acts towards him, despite the possibility of his guilt.

Alex Jones & Detective Loki (Paul Dano & Jake Gyllenhaal)

Something that is important to note is that the trailers for Prisoners don't portray the entire mood of the film. There are some intense scenes of torture littered throughout which, although they are in context, may put some people off. Also, this is basically 2 and a half hours of a man doing anything he can to find his missing young daughter, so don't go in expecting an exciting action movie or laugh-a-minute comedy. Prisoners is a bleak drama and it clearly embraces that. 

Verdict

Despite being very dark at times and consistently depressing, Prisoners had me captivated from beginning to end. I could not wait to find out what had happened to the daughters, and in that sense, Prisoners did its job perfectly. There is a rather large twist towards the end which I personally didn't see coming, and it is certainly a movie which anybody who can handle intense dramas should check out.   8.2/10

"Pray for the best, but prepare for the worst."