Prisoners is a haunting tale about the kidnapping of two small girls from a quiet neighborhood and the way that both sets of parents deal with their disappearances.
This film has the cream of the crop of actors—almost all of the adult actors are Academy Award winners or nominees. With Hugh Jackman, Jake Gyllenhall, Viola Davis, Maria Bello, Terrence Howard and Paul Dano, this film couldn’t get any better as far as talent is concerned. And they don’t disappoint.
Keller Dover (played by Hugh Jackman) and his best bud and neighbor Franklin (played by Terrence Howard) are the grieving fathers. Maria Bello plays Jackman’s opposite and Viola Davis fits perfectly as Howard’s wife, Nancy. Both couples have two children, very close in age and both lose their youngest on a cold night when the families get together for Thanksgiving. Anna and Joy ask to walk home but hours later no one can find them and these families experience their worst nightmare come true.
Jack Gyllenhall enters the film as Detective Loki, one of the precincts best detectives and a ferocious worker. Prisoners is not simply about Loki’s search for the girls, his empty leads and the twists and turns he encounters along the way but it is also about the way each family member responds to this tragedy.
Grace (Maria Bello) essentially becomes a vegetable, sleeping all day and taking sleeping pills when she can’t sleep. Thus, her son takes care of her while his dad takes on a psuedo detective role, not trusting the police to do their job.
Although equally distraught, Franklin and Nancy seem to have a faith in the system Keller does not have. When a suspect is released (played by Paul Dano) due to insubstantial evidence, Keller takes drastic measures by kidnapping the man he thinks kidnapped his girls and holding him hostage in hopes of getting information.
Dano plays Alex Jones, the aforementioned “kidnaper”–a young man with the IQ of a 10-year-old. This information secures his innocence in the authority’s eyes but Keller doesn’t buy it. To the disgrace of Franklin and Nancy, Keller tortures the young man. The downward spiral his mind takes in the wake of his daughter’s disappearance forms a rift in his friendship with Franklin and Nancy.
Hugh Jackman seems to channel his inner-Wolverine for this movie. His portrayal of a man who will do anything, absolutely anything, to find his daughter and her friend, his intense and quite frankly, scary at times. Terrence Howard is the perfect supporting actor in this role, playing a much meeker father, who cannot justify his friend’s violent actions in the hopes of finding his daughter.
Gyllenhall’s actor is reminiscent of his detective role in “Zodiac.” But there’s something mysterious about Gyllenhall’s character. The camera often zooms in on tattoos on his knuckles and the back of his neck but we are never really told of Loki’s past. His fierce attitude and formidable actions tell of a man once on the other side of the law.
Prisoners is a movie that asks you to think about Keller’s actions—is it moral? Would you do the same? Would you let him continue torturing the young man but not say anything?
Prisoners is a thrilling crime drama. It takes hold of you and doesn’t let go until the credits role.
Prisoners is in theaters now! Prisoners is showing at the Carmike Thoroughbred 20 in Franklin. This weekend’s showtimes are:
Saturday: 12:25p, 1:25p, 3:50p, 5:00p, 7:15p, 8:25p, 10:40p and Sunday: 12:25p, 1:25p, 3:50p, 5:00p, 7:15p and 8:25p.
