Prisoners

This was one intense movie-going experience. Throughout the entire running time of the movie, the suspense never lets up.

The director masterfully weaves the haunting atmosphere, and I was at the edge of my seat. The plot is a wonderful puzzle, unraveling slowly to reveal hidden layers of depth and complexity. The acting was wonderful, emotional and nuanced, with some unforgettable moments (The two leads - Gyllenhaal and Jackman - give their career best performances, but the biggest achievement in my opinion is Paul Dano's). The musical score contributes to a sense of dread, as well as the rich sound design and the chilly color palette of the breathtaking cinematography.

All those parts add up to a rare, gut-wrenching, dark and fascinating masterpiece - the kind that lingers with you long after the credits roll.

Prisoners is a gritty, incredibly well-acted, suspenseful, thought-provoking crime drama thriller. The film mainly focus on the choices taken and the consequences faced by the characters when worst things happen to them.

It simply raises the question: When your kid's life is at stake, how far are you willing to do to protect your family? It explores the likelihood of human behaviour when such crime is happening to us, blurring the lines between good and bad people.

For a 153 minute movie, the story does unfolds at a slow and solemn pace (which hurts the film and might bore some audiences) but the dramatic scenes performed by the main cast members in the film will keep you engaged. Hugh Jackman and Jack Gyllenhaal both giving intense, Oscar-worthy performances here, defining and developing their characters with various layers of emotions: affection, anger, grief, empathy, guilt...throughout the film.

The film's atmosphere, heavy rains, stormy days and icy cold winter managed to create a dark, dreadful environment to make up the dreary and haunting mood in the film. Every violent action taken by the characters are acts of desperation given that they are running out of time.

However, the film is not perfect. Despite some plot problems from the various twists and turns shown in the film, the superb performances from the casts was sufficient enough to make the story succeed and believable.

Highly recommended for those who wanted to watch a serious drama thriller with powerful, engaging acting performances from its talented casts.

http://yjcool.blogspot.com/2013/09/movie-review-prisoners.html

There is a sensitivity that Director Denis Villenueve and writer Aaron Guzikowski inhabit in bringing their newest film "Prisoners" from Warner Bros. to the screen. Starring an Academy Award nominated cast that includes Hugh Jackman, Jake Gyllenhaal, Terence Howard, Maria Bello, Viola Davis, Oscar-winner Melissa Leo, and Paul Dano, this is a smartly constructed and emotionally resound mystery thriller that is thoroughly enjoyable.

The synopsis is fully in the trailer. When two young girls go missing, one belonging to Keller and Grace (Jackman and Bello), the other to Franklin and Nancy (Howard and Davis), a hot-shot detective (Gyllenhaal) is assigned to the case and relentlessly tries to find the clues that could lead to the whereabouts of the missing. When a mentally handicapped Alex Jones (Dano) is found near the scene of the disappearance with no hard evidence, Keller takes matters into his own hands.

I have to say that I've never been this hypnotized with the works of Hugh Jackman and Jake Gyllenhaal. Jackman, who is fresh of his inaugural nomination for Tom Hooper's "Les Miserables" has capitalized in a massive way. Approaching his character with the ferocity that made him a star in the "X-Men" franchises, he hammers his way into every scene, keeping the audience guessing about their own moral complexities. He tears into scenes in a way we've never seen him and layers his character with plenty of affection, empathy, grief, and rage. It's his best dramatic endeavor he's ever done.

When it comes to Jake Gyllenhaal, many, and probably for the right reasons, gravitate towards his work in Ang Lee's "Brokeback Mountain" as his shining moment in film history. I believe he's gone deeper in works like "Jarhead" and "Zodiac" but those were just the surface of what he can do as an actor. As Detective Loki, Gyllenhaal stands firm and tall in one of the year's finest performances. Terrifically executed as a man disconnected from real emotion, he finds himself enamored by the mystery surrounding two missing girls. He also orchestrates character beats and ticks that's reminiscent of Joaquin Phoenix's towering work in "The Master" last year.

What is very refreshing in the film is it offers a great reminder of how brilliant an actor Terence Howard is. The Oscar-nominated actor seemed to fall by the wayside following his nomination for "Hustle and Flow" in 2006, coincidentally the same year Gyllenhaal snagged his first, and now has realized his capabilities when he chooses more dynamic and passionate characters. In a film that centers around his involvement, Paul Dano doesn't have too much to offer but is completely adequate in form.

The film however is not entirely perfect. Aaron Guzikowski's depth screenplay offers a great mystery story, full of twists and turns, all the bit a tad predictable, but that's not where he falters so much. His construction of the female counterparts, Maria Bello, Viola Davis, and Melissa Leo, are not as crisply or smoothly put together as I'd like them to be. They each have one "scene" that gives us their character's motivation and the look into their cinematic psyche however, some are thrown in quite lazily and manages to halt the story in spots.

The film's technical merits all rise to the abilities of its cast. Roger Deakins, the most overdue Cinematographer in the business, captures stunning portraits of conversations, weather, and scenes that continue to prove his brilliance in the film world. The film's score is masterfully placed by Jóhann Jóhannsson while Joel Cox and Gary Roach edit the film to an impeccable pace.

At 153 minutes, the film is detailed, precise, and engaging nearly throughout. I feel there's a shorter cut of the film that would surely be a Best Picture nominee for this year's Academy Awards if it existed. The film could still garner that support with what they have now, but I think there are aspects of the film members won't be able to get around. A high level of violence and torture scenes infused with a longer run time could keep people at a distance. One thing that can't be denied is the towering works of Hugh Jackman and Jake Gyllenhaal. The two have offered plenty of memorable performances in their filmography, but their work in "Prisoners" is cut and clear their best they've offered.

"Prisoners" is a magnificent achievement for the film year. Thorough, enigmatic, and purely amazing. A must-see for the movie lovers.

The film opens in theaters this Friday, September 20.

Prisoners (2013)

**** (out of 4)

Incredibly well-made and intense mystery about two little girls who go missing and the detective (Jake Gyllenhaal) put on the case to find them. When the original suspect (Paul Dano) is let go, one of the girl's father (Hugh Jackman) decides to take justice in his own hands. I really had high hopes going into PRISONERS and my expectations for a great film were met but I must admit that it wasn't anywhere near the type of great film I expected. A lot of thrillers these days are limited on talk and emotions and instead we just get one big, staged action scene after another. That's certainly not the case here because the film takes its time (153-minutes) telling its story and there are so many quiet moments where we just see the characters losing their grip and emotions as they try to make sense of not knowing where these two girls are. What really pushes the film over the edge are the terrific performances with Jackson leading the way in what's the best performance I've seen from him. This isn't your "loving" father in the traditional sense. Instead he's someone quite scary from the first time we see him and we see how much worse he gets as the picture goes along. While on one hand you sympathize with his situation, on the other hand you really can't support what he's doing and often wonderful about his own involvement in things. Jackman really comes off like a man full of emotion and rage and he just doesn't know how to properly let it out. The anger he shows throughout the film is something so raw that you really do feel as if you're watching a man who has a daughter missing. Gyllenhaal also deserves a lot of credit for the way he played the detective role. I really loved the various obstacles that his character gets put through and especially the own weakness and at times stuck-up approach. The supporting cast includes wonderful performances by Dano, Melissa Leo, Terrence Howard, Maria Bello and Viola Davis. The screenplay isn't going to give you a lot of easy answers and there are many times where you hate the lead characters and can't find anything in them to root for. I thought it was quite brave that the film was willing to take so many chances and it asks the viewer to ask themselves many questions about how they would react to what's going on. I can't say I agreed with all the choices but it's great that a film actually makes you think as that's something quite rare these days. PRISONERS isn't exactly an "enjoyable" film as it has you feeling dirty throughout the running time but if you stick with it the thing is certainly very rewarding.

I just came back from the theater and to be honest I went into this movie with very low expectation! But WOW did it prove me wrong. The film left me on the edge of my seat all the time, one could argue things were slow sometimes but it only adds to the beauty of the big picture.

Performance are top notch and if it was for me I would give Jackman his very deserved Oscar for this amazing performance, of course all the other performances were really great also but Hugh's stands out for me.

This movie is worth your time, and I'm sure by the end of it you'll keep talking about it with your friends, for me that is a success stamp if the movie can keep my mind busy all the time.

This is not your feel-good movie. This is a perfectly paced thriller which I haven't seen anything like it in a very long time. For me this was a totally new experience as I usually go for lighter movies in the cinema, but after this movie I will go out of my comfort-zone in movies more often to find masterpieces like this one.