"Prisoners" - directed by Dennis Villeneuve
Sometimes I pay too much attention to box office results.
Mostly this is because I find it interesting stuff to follow- specially when it is a movie I am interested in.
Even movies that I have little interest in usually provide some enjoyment in watching their fates unfold week by week.
But it's the movies that I genuinely admire that I tend to follow the box office on because I desperately want them to do well so that a signal is sent to studios and filmmakers that quality movies can, and do find audiences.
And so I am very pleased to report that "Prisoners" which cost $46,000,000 to make has so far raked in almost twice that much worldwide with more to come.
Not bad for a two and a half hour movie loaded to the gills with darkness and despair.
"Prisoners" is the story of two young girls who go missing- presumed abducted- and the men who will go to great lengths to find them.
And believe me- this is not "Finding Nemo".
This is easily one of the darkest mainstream movies that I have seen this year.
One hopes that no real town has this level of suburban evil lurking behind its porches and screen doors.
I was reminded more than once of "The Silence of the Lambs".
The town looks very much like the one in which Buffalo Bill resided both architecturally and in terms of climate.
Cinematographer Roger Deakins has 10 Oscar nominations already and his work here is a strong contender for another.
Overcast or raining in every single exterior shot, loaded with tension and intensity and without a single laugh amidst its 145 minute running time this is hardly a date movie.
Religion plays a big part in "Prisoners".
It is mentioned implicitly several times and on more than one occasion prayers are uttered.
The film begins with Keller Dover (Hugh Jackman) reciting the Lord's Prayer as he teaches his son how to shoot his first deer.
In an early shot we see a crucifix dangling from the drivers mirror in his pickup.
Religion is sewn into the fabric of this movie so much that when a major character reveals a religious aspect it doesn't jar in the slightest.
This is something that writer Aaron Guzikowski and director Dennis Villeneuve do so very well in "Prisoners".
There are surprises and twists and even deliberate ploys to mislead scattered throughout but none that will have you groaning and none that are easy to pick.
At heart this is a whodunit and the hunt for the missing girls will prove to be harrowing.
I was disappointed with last years "Contraband" also written by Aaron Guzikowski but as with that films director who went on to helm the rather good "2 Guns" the importance of not judging an artist on one piece of work is highlighted once again.
Guzikowski's script packs a whole heap in.
In leaving the cinema from the screening tonight I ran the plot through my mind.
Gathering everything that had happened, the twists and turns, the multiple characters, suspects and moments of high tension I was amazed that it had been one movie.
It never felt rushed nor did it outstay its welcome.
The pacing is perfect.
It is the characterisation that impresses most though with motivations revealed and concealed with every plot beat.
The core of the film lies with the question how far would you go to protect a loved one?
In the case of Keller Dover there seems to be few lines he will not cross.
Casting Hugh Jackman is a stroke of genius.
We are used to seeing him as the hero.
He has played the charming everyman, the superhero with a moral code and many a loveable rogue.
Here he is a family man - the sort of mans man who rules over the family.
He teaches his eldest son to hunt and kill for food and preaches that you should 'pray for the best, plan for the worst'.
It is at a family Thanksgiving at a neighbours house that his daughter and his host Franklin's (Terence Howard) go missing.
So when he himself becomes a kidnapper and kidnaps the prime suspect in the girls' abduction in order to torture information out of him it is all the more impactful.
Hugh Jackman wielding a hammer and threatening to stove in a young mans face?
Likewise when we meet Jake Gyllenhaal's character that same Thanksgiving night that the girls went missing he is alone in a diner and a very different character to that which we are used to seeing him play.
He has a facial tic, tattoo's on his hands and neck and a Freemason ring.
When he is revealed as Police Detective Loki it is almost a surprise.
One might have assumed that he was the kidnapper.
His mannerisms and appearance make him just as likely as the perpetrator of the crime than the investigator.
At one point this film was to be made with Christian Bale and Mark Wahlberg starring and Bryan Singer directing.
We'll never know what the result might have been but I can't imagine it could have possibly been better than the film we got.
The two leads create characters both intensely driven by passion. It comes from different places and manifests itself in drastically different behaviours.
Watching these two bounce off each other is half of the enjoyment in this fine movie.
"Prisoners" asks some pretty hard questions and doesn't shy away from answering some of them.
It could have turned out to be a simple exploration of whether taking the law into your own hands is the best option and whether the end justifies the means but instead it takes an amoral route and lets us decide for ourselves.
No doubt the final scene is going to infuriate some but it is in fact perfect. It serves to provoke further thought and preserves all of the hard work done in the preceding two and a quarter hours.
It is a fine conclusion.
"Prisoners" is one of the best directed, most sublimely acted films of recent times with standout work from all involved.
Possibly Paul Dano as the lead suspect with an IQ of a ten year old will not get the credit that he deserves but his portrayal is by turns unnerving, sympathetic, despicable and pathetic.
Every single performance is note perfect.
Melissa Leo, Maria Bello, Viola Davis and in particular David Dastmalchian ("The Dark Knight") give amazing performances.
Hugh Jackman has never been better but it is Jake Gyllenhaal who really impresses with his portrayal of the driven, slightly odd Detective Loki.
The facial ticks and tattoo's were Gyllenhaal's idea and that they are never mentioned or explained only adds to the ambiguity of the character.
In fact the whole movie is so drenched in ambiguity that I found myself constantly re-evaluating theories as to who the real criminal was and what had happened right until the end.
At every turn more and more dark secrets are unearthed until I was sure one more would be too much to bear.
"Prisoners" is the sort of movie that "The Lovely Bones" should have been.
It is the sort of thriller that we need more of.
Gripping, supremely well crafted and breathlessly riveting to the last second I loved this film.
Mostly this is because I find it interesting stuff to follow- specially when it is a movie I am interested in.
Even movies that I have little interest in usually provide some enjoyment in watching their fates unfold week by week.
But it's the movies that I genuinely admire that I tend to follow the box office on because I desperately want them to do well so that a signal is sent to studios and filmmakers that quality movies can, and do find audiences.
And so I am very pleased to report that "Prisoners" which cost $46,000,000 to make has so far raked in almost twice that much worldwide with more to come.
Not bad for a two and a half hour movie loaded to the gills with darkness and despair.
"Prisoners" is the story of two young girls who go missing- presumed abducted- and the men who will go to great lengths to find them.
And believe me- this is not "Finding Nemo".
This is easily one of the darkest mainstream movies that I have seen this year.
One hopes that no real town has this level of suburban evil lurking behind its porches and screen doors.
I was reminded more than once of "The Silence of the Lambs".
The town looks very much like the one in which Buffalo Bill resided both architecturally and in terms of climate.
Cinematographer Roger Deakins has 10 Oscar nominations already and his work here is a strong contender for another.
Overcast or raining in every single exterior shot, loaded with tension and intensity and without a single laugh amidst its 145 minute running time this is hardly a date movie.
 |
| Jake Gyllenhaal as Detective Loki and Hugh Jackman as Keller Dover |
It is mentioned implicitly several times and on more than one occasion prayers are uttered.
The film begins with Keller Dover (Hugh Jackman) reciting the Lord's Prayer as he teaches his son how to shoot his first deer.
In an early shot we see a crucifix dangling from the drivers mirror in his pickup.
Religion is sewn into the fabric of this movie so much that when a major character reveals a religious aspect it doesn't jar in the slightest.
This is something that writer Aaron Guzikowski and director Dennis Villeneuve do so very well in "Prisoners".
There are surprises and twists and even deliberate ploys to mislead scattered throughout but none that will have you groaning and none that are easy to pick.
At heart this is a whodunit and the hunt for the missing girls will prove to be harrowing.
I was disappointed with last years "Contraband" also written by Aaron Guzikowski but as with that films director who went on to helm the rather good "2 Guns" the importance of not judging an artist on one piece of work is highlighted once again.
Guzikowski's script packs a whole heap in.
In leaving the cinema from the screening tonight I ran the plot through my mind.
Gathering everything that had happened, the twists and turns, the multiple characters, suspects and moments of high tension I was amazed that it had been one movie.
It never felt rushed nor did it outstay its welcome.
 |
| Family bliss - soon to be ripped apart |
It is the characterisation that impresses most though with motivations revealed and concealed with every plot beat.
The core of the film lies with the question how far would you go to protect a loved one?
In the case of Keller Dover there seems to be few lines he will not cross.
Casting Hugh Jackman is a stroke of genius.
We are used to seeing him as the hero.
He has played the charming everyman, the superhero with a moral code and many a loveable rogue.
Here he is a family man - the sort of mans man who rules over the family.
He teaches his eldest son to hunt and kill for food and preaches that you should 'pray for the best, plan for the worst'.
It is at a family Thanksgiving at a neighbours house that his daughter and his host Franklin's (Terence Howard) go missing.
So when he himself becomes a kidnapper and kidnaps the prime suspect in the girls' abduction in order to torture information out of him it is all the more impactful.
Hugh Jackman wielding a hammer and threatening to stove in a young mans face?
Likewise when we meet Jake Gyllenhaal's character that same Thanksgiving night that the girls went missing he is alone in a diner and a very different character to that which we are used to seeing him play.
He has a facial tic, tattoo's on his hands and neck and a Freemason ring.
When he is revealed as Police Detective Loki it is almost a surprise.
One might have assumed that he was the kidnapper.
His mannerisms and appearance make him just as likely as the perpetrator of the crime than the investigator.
At one point this film was to be made with Christian Bale and Mark Wahlberg starring and Bryan Singer directing.
We'll never know what the result might have been but I can't imagine it could have possibly been better than the film we got.
The two leads create characters both intensely driven by passion. It comes from different places and manifests itself in drastically different behaviours.
Watching these two bounce off each other is half of the enjoyment in this fine movie.
 |
| Maria Bello, Viola Davis, Terence Howard, Melissa Leo and Paul Dano |
It could have turned out to be a simple exploration of whether taking the law into your own hands is the best option and whether the end justifies the means but instead it takes an amoral route and lets us decide for ourselves.
No doubt the final scene is going to infuriate some but it is in fact perfect. It serves to provoke further thought and preserves all of the hard work done in the preceding two and a quarter hours.
It is a fine conclusion.
"Prisoners" is one of the best directed, most sublimely acted films of recent times with standout work from all involved.
Possibly Paul Dano as the lead suspect with an IQ of a ten year old will not get the credit that he deserves but his portrayal is by turns unnerving, sympathetic, despicable and pathetic.
Every single performance is note perfect.
Melissa Leo, Maria Bello, Viola Davis and in particular David Dastmalchian ("The Dark Knight") give amazing performances.
Hugh Jackman has never been better but it is Jake Gyllenhaal who really impresses with his portrayal of the driven, slightly odd Detective Loki.
The facial ticks and tattoo's were Gyllenhaal's idea and that they are never mentioned or explained only adds to the ambiguity of the character.
In fact the whole movie is so drenched in ambiguity that I found myself constantly re-evaluating theories as to who the real criminal was and what had happened right until the end.
At every turn more and more dark secrets are unearthed until I was sure one more would be too much to bear.
"Prisoners" is the sort of movie that "The Lovely Bones" should have been.
It is the sort of thriller that we need more of.
Gripping, supremely well crafted and breathlessly riveting to the last second I loved this film.
| Rated | R16 for violence, language and grim content |
| Running Time: | 153 minutes (2hrs, 25mins without end credits) |
| Starring: |
| Hugh Jackman | --- Keller Dover |
| Jake Gyllenhaal | --- Detective Loki |
| Viola Davis | --- Nancy Birch |
| Terence Howard | --- Franklin Birch |
| Maria Bello | --- Grace Dover |
| Melissa Leo | --- Holly Jones |
| Paul Dano | --- Alex Jones |
| Dylan Minnette | --- Ralph Dover |
| Wayne Duvall | --- Captain O'Malley |
| Erin Gerasimovich | --- Anna Dover |
| Kyla Drew Simmons | --- Joy Birch |
| David Dastmalchian | --- Bob Taylor |
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