by Trevor Kirkendall
★★★½
Here we go again, another boring police procedural. Just
what we need. As if we don’t have enough on network television every night. As
if USA and the Turner networks don’t wear us down with constant “NCIS” and “Law
& Order” marathons every weekend. Didn’t we just see one of these? It sure
seems like a police procedural comes out once every two months. Or was that
just a “CSI” rerun I saw the other day?
That’s generally my take on procedure films such as
“Prisoners” and I did carry some of that attitude with me into the screening
despite how good the TV spots looked. But “Prisoners” is based around the
characters and not around the procedure. By putting emphasis on character and
story rather than the procedures, “Prisoners” transcends the predictable boundaries
of the genre and becomes a much more relatable film.
It's Thanksgiving Day and Keller Dover (Hugh Jackman) is with
his wife Grace (Maria Bello), teenage son Ralph (Dylan Minnetta) and six-year
old daughter Anna (Erin Gerasimovich) at their neighbor Franklin (Terrence
Howard) and Nancy (Viola Davis) Birch’s house for dinner. Franklin and Nancy
also have a daughter about Ralph’s age, Eliza (Zoe Soul), and a daughter about
Anna’s age, Joy (Kyla Drew Simmons). The two young girls are hanging out
together and decide to go look for a lost toy back over at the Dover’s house.
The parents allow them to go. That will be the last they see of them.
The girls go missing and the families being to search. Ralph
remembers seeing a creepy looking RV parked on the street earlier in the day.
Police soon find the RV and its owner Alex Jones (Paul Dano). Alex is said to
have the IQ of a 10 year old. He’s quiet and creepy. Keller’s gut feeling is
that Alex took the girls. He knows it, even if the police don’t have any evidence.
The investigation is left up to Detective Loki (Jake Gyllenhaal) who’s very
serious about his job and doesn’t appreciate Keller trying to tell him how it's
supposed to be done.
But Keller is so convinced that Alex, who lives with his
Aunt Holly (Melissa Leo). Loki investigates Alex and his aunt, but comes up
with nothing tying him to the girls’ disappearance. This isn’t enough for
Keller. The rage within him and his desire to find his daughter and her friend
are too much for him to sit around and let Loki handle this on his own. He
decides that it's up to him to find out what Alex knows.
While most police dramas or child kidnapping thrillers can
be a very overdone and bland genre of film, “Prisoners” is a much more
refreshing take. This is a very patiently paced story and very delicately
handled by French-Canadian filmmaker Denis Villeneuve.
Villeneuve has a very strong handle of this exceptionally
dark screenplay from “Contraband” scribe Aaron Guzikowski. The script takes the
unique perspective of examining each character individually and building the
story we are shown around their backstories and personalities. This - as
opposed to coming up with a plot and inserting characters we don’t care about
into it - works on a much more empathetic level; we can’t help but feel the
pain everyone is experiencing.
The plot’s been done before so there’s no need to give us
something we already know. By examining the scenario through meticulously
designed characters, we have something that is much more engaging. It's a
mystery film, but you don’t find yourself trying to solve the mystery before
the movie does. You’re too engaged with the characters to be your own
detective.
This is not a film of chance or coincidence. Everything here
seems very realistic. Even the setting feels real. The decision to set “Prisoners”
in an unnamed small Pennsylvania town helps to create a more realistic
illusion. The lack of coincidence is also very refreshing, especially for a
Hollywood studio film. I’m not saying it's completely free of coincidence, but
people don’t just happen to find clues hidden away in plain sight late in the
film when they should have noticed them earlier (well, one moment comes to
mind, but that’s one moment in 153 total minutes; that’s a much better track record
than other films). People don’t just happen to bump into potential killers or
stumble over other plot details just to keep it moving. This is a very well
thought out and methodically handled film.
The cast is full of talented star power. It makes little
sense for me to tell you how good everyone is in this film because you should
already know. With the exception of Paul Dano and Maria Bello, each of these
main actors have been nominated for Oscars (and Melissa Leo took one home two
years ago for “The Fighter”). Dano will get his one day; he’s far too talented
to go unnoticed forever as he once again showcases here as the troubled and
disturbed Alex Jones. Bello will get hers one day too. It's a crime she wasn’t
already nominated for her roles in “A History of Violence” or “The Cooler”.
Jake Gyllenhaal takes a departure from his typical roles by
playing this one with a much darker tone. The script is purposefully vague on
his backstory, but Gyllenhaal is able to tell you everything you need to know
about Detective Loki by the way behaves toward others around him and with his
determination in solving this case.
Hugh Jackman is sensational in his portrayal as the
desperate father. He is absolutely fearless in this role, so much more than
I’ve ever seen him. I hope he doesn’t go unnoticed by Oscar voters because he
really is that good in this film. He should absolutely be considered for his
second nomination. You are unable to take your eyes off him. Despite
questionable measures he takes in trying to find his daughter, you don’t
necessarily disagree with him.
And in a complete juxtaposition to Jackman’s Keller is
Terrence Howard’s portrayal of Franklin. This man couldn’t be anymore of a
polar opposite to Jackman’s character. It’s riveting to watch these two one
screen together and to see how each of them in their different lives deal with
this unthinkable situation.
Despite the subject matter
being similar to movies we typically get each year, nothing feels overdone in
“Prisoners”. It’s a film you can really sink your teeth into as you watch. Even
if it runs a little long just for the sake of being long, there is a lot of
good to take away from this. It’s dark and at times eerie, and it should come
across as a very rewarding experience once you make it through. And when you do
make it through, “Prisoners” will still be in your head long after you leave.
