Prisoners – Review
Everyone subscribes to a certain set of values. These values obviously differ from person to person but they are almost universally decided when life is very calm and peaceful. The saying usually goes something like “you need to know where you stand before the situation arises.” While logical, when the situation does arise where you choose to stand is likely to end up being very different from where you thought you would be. Such it is with Prisoners.
Directed by Denis Villeneuve, who’s filmography mostly deals with independent type films, it stars Hugh Jackman and Jake Gyllenhaal. Shortly after the film begins, one of Jackman’s daughters, along with a friend of hers, goes missing. There was no abandonment or neglect on the side of the parents. They live in a small, working class community and were down the street visiting friends. The two girls wanted to run back to the other house to get something and due to a mis-communication the girls’ older siblings didn’t accompany them. The girls never make it back. Gyllenhaal plays the lead detective on the case to find the girls.
On it’s face, the film has everything you could ask for. Jackman and Gyllenhaal both are phenomenal. This modern, blue-collar type role isn’t something Jackman normally plays but he has no problem pulling it off. From a sheer quality of acting point of view this would definitely rank among his finest moments. Gyllenhaal is able to provide his character with many dimensions as he tries to negotiate the difficult task of finding the girls, staying within the law, and keeping the peace with the girls’ parents.
The film even has all the requisite twists and turns which are actually done quite well. You are continually trying to gauge the guilt or innocence of various characters as the things only get more complex.
At first glace of the film’s trailers you might think this film would be in a similar vein as Taken with Liam Neeson. You would absolutely be wrong. The kidnapped girls merely serve as a plot device for the film to delve into it’s actual core, which is not a pretty place. It is thought provoking and sure to promote debate but things quickly get uncomfortable. Less than halfway through the movie things have progressed to the point that you begin to realize that no matter how things pan out, the ending simply can not be a happy one.
This type of film fits in what seems to be a growing niche in Hollywood. Films that try to relate with their gritty, everyday type of people, with everyday type of problems. Life is complicated and life does have problems, but far too often these types of films end with an egregious amount of unnecessary death and despair. What sad form of escapism seeks this end?
