David Fincher’s style of film-making always inspires awe in me. The way he creates the mood and sets up the atmosphere for a mystery or a thriller leaves me spellbound every time. If you have seen Fincher’s films, you are bound to find striking similarity with Prisoners especially with Fincher’s 2007 masterful mystery thriller Zodiac which was actually based on a true story. Although Prisoners is in a completely different zone of storytelling, but the film making style, the mood reminded me a lot about Zodiac.
Prisoners is not exactly an out and out adrenaline rush and edge of the seat thriller; rather,with its running time of 153 minutes, the film moves at a leisurely pace, takes time to build up the story and the characters.You need to have patience to watch this one. But if you can hold on, you will be treated with a beautiful thriller that has underlying emotional complexities and brilliant performances. As the mystery unfolds, the film brings into light social issues that deserve attention and it’s quite thought provoking eventually. And, I must say the film justifies its title quite wonderfully.
Prisoners starts with the abduction of two young girls Anna and Joy on a chilly rainy Thanks Giving when both the girls’ families were attending a dinner party. One of the girls’ father is Keller Dover (Hugh Jackman) who after a failed search, reports the police about the two missing girls and an RV which they suspect to be the kidnapper’s. Detective Loki (Jake Gyllenhaal) is assigned to the case and based on the initial reports, the police arrest a suspect named Alex (Paul Dano) from the reported RV near the woods outside a gas station.But Alex turns out to be mentally impaired. Mr. Dover is kind of convinced that Alex is the killer even though there is not any evidence. Eventually when the police release Alex due to lack of evidence, Mr. Dover is vexed and decides to take the law into his own hands. He imprisons Alex in an abandoned apartment building and starts unbearable inhuman torture on him with the reluctant support of Joy’s father (Terrence Howard) and mother (Viola Davis).In the meantime, Detective Loki suspects another guy named Bob Taylor whom he takes into custody after a cat-mouse chase but eventually the boy commits suicide. Loki also becomes aware about the disappearance of Alex from his aunt Holly and suspects that Mr. Dover has something to do with it. Does Loki come to know about Mr. Dover and finally recover the girls and catch the kidnapper ? Well, for that you need to see the film. I shouldn’t spoil it for you.
Prisoners is not an easy film to make and as a script demands various faces of human emotions in the form of subtle story telling. As I said it’s a layered mystery thriller; it has its plot and subplots and requires a courageous and efficient hand to turn the script into a film. 
Prisoners is not perfect, but it’s a matured, intense and gripping thriller that makes you guess and think throughout. Denis Villeneuve who had directed the Oscar nominated Canadian-French Film Incendies does a decent job here.
Another excellent thing about Prisoners is Roger Deakins’s cinematography. I have always admired him for his work and he is exceptional in this film as well. Prisoners is brilliantly shot, the dark and somber mood is perfectly captured right from the beginning setting up the tone. Without the technical brilliance, the film couldn’t have gone this far.
The film has its share of hiccups though. Even considering the mental instability of Jackman, I still felt the torture scenes were a bit over the top and the tone could have been brought down a little. The snakes’ scene was damn creepy and I had to take eyes off the screen; but that’s just me. The climatic sequence felt a bit over stretched and prolonged and kind of underwhelming. I felt it could have been handled in a better way.
Hugh Jackman delivers a riveting performance in the role of a vulnerable, emotionally unstable helpless father who is torn apart by his 
moral dilemma and animal instinct. Look out for the scenes where Hugh Jackman expresses his frustration on Detective Lockey when he first comes to the house or where he identifies her daughter’s socks and breaks down in tears.He brings so much passion, versatility and depth into this role and performs with utmost sincerity and dedication.Jack Gyllenhaal also gives a genuine heartfelt performance as Detective Loki. Rest of the supporting cast including Maria Bello as Keller’s wife and Melissa Leo as Alex’s aunt, Terrence Howard and Viola Davis hit the right note as well.
Overall Prisoners is not exceptionally brilliant and it may not be a completely fulfilling experience but it’s definitely an engrossing one if you are a sucker for good sensible thrillers. I liked it for its underlying depth, the ethical complexity of human emotions, cinematography and of course Hugh Jackman’s memorable act!!
Cinema Paradiso 