Prisoners

Down and Dirty: Go see it

Director: Denis Villeneuve

Big Names: Hugh Jackman, Jake Gyllenhaal, Terrence Howard, Melissa Leo

I’ll be direct; this is the most thrilling and terrifying crime movie since David Fincher’s Seven, which came out almost twenty years ago. Do not go see this and expect an uplifting film. This is a hard movie to watch at times and it will challenge your view of what is moral versus what is necessary. Without revealing any spoilers (why read a review that tells you everything you’re about to go see?), the plot unfolds around a kidnapping of two young girls - one belonging to Keller Dover (Hugh Jackman) and the other to Franklin Birch (Terrence Howard). These two families struggle to cope with the unfolding search and investigation headed up by the local detective (Jake Gyllenhaal). I hesitate to reveal anything further because there are so many unforeseen developments that it’s better if you don’t have any expectation of what lies ahead. All you need to know is that with a subject matter this dark, these characters will take you to places you don’t want to go.

It’s not just a crime thriller though - this film is downright scary. Not seat-jumping horror like you might expect from a Paranormal Activity or Insidious, but scary in the sense of how terribly real it all feels. At no point in time during my viewing experience did I think to myself “bullshit, no way it goes down like that,” which I often find myself thinking during over the top thrillers and horror flicks. I mean this is genuinely something that could happen and it forces you to think about how you would react in a similar situation. What sort of measures would you take? Who would you trust? How far would you be willing to go?

But I think the most interesting effect this film creates is super high anxiety in the viewer. The extreme level of helplessness I felt alongside some of the main characters was legit nerve racking. If you don’t fare well with movies that make your knees knock, don’t go see this.

From a filmmaking standpoint, Villeneuve gets just about everything right. The acting, the cinematography, and the score all blend together like a terrifying black tar that keeps you glued to your seat. Even when the pacing slows down there is never a dull moment. Instead, the intense dialogue succeeds in drawing you further down the dark rabbit hole of creepiness. Hugh Jackman, in a different role than his typical 'hero' look, outperforms everyone as the devastated father who will do anything to find his daughter; and Jake Gyllenhaal, who I've always been iffy about, does an amazing job as the anything but stereotypical workaholic detective. Another standout is Melissa Leo who makes the most of her limited screen time (I didn’t even recognize it was her until the credits rolled). It’s just a well-put together American cinema debut from this Canadian director. Up until now he has been known as a foreign film specialist, but that is surely about to change. Look for big things to come from Denis Villeneuve in the future.

Now that I’ve gushed about almost every aspect of Prisoners, here’s what you should do:

Go see it! …and tell me what you think!