Dir: Denis Villeneuve
Starring: Hugh Jackman, Jake Gyllenhaal, Viola Davis, Maria Bello, Terrence Howard, Melissa Leo, Paul Dano.
153 minutes, 15
Prisoners is a gritty suspenseful crime drama directed by Denis Villeneuve and written by Aaron Guzikowski. Hugh Jackman plays a doting father whose child gets abducted outside their neighbourhood along with a family friend; whilst Jack Gyllenhaal plays Detective Loki, lead of the investigation into the disappearance of the girls.
The overall style of the film is very grim with low key lighting throughout and no use of bright colours, which obviously adds to the depressing element of the film. Watching the trailer for this film, I thought I was going to be watching an emotional drama, but the film was actually much darker and deep than I thought.
Prisoners is a fairly long film with a running time of 153, and usually I prefer a much shorter film, but I found this film to have not one boring moment and it was very tense. Villeneuve keeps the audience hooked by introducing numerous suspects and toys with minds; it’s always good for a film to have audience members guessing the plot right till the end of the film. I thought the plot twist was genuinely good and I was quite surprised at the ending as I hadn’t anticipated the twist. This film definitely is one for those who like suspenseful films that keep them on the edge of their seats.
In terms of faults on this film, there aren’t a lot, but I found it difficult at times to hear the dialogue of some of the characters (which could make it difficult for audiences to grasp the plot in detail). Also, although the plot is very well thought out in terms of opening sequence and the cliff-hanger end, there are some parts of the film that I felt were just there to fill time.
Gyllenhaal’s character is very likeable and mysterious – the film doesn’t give any of his background, so audiences are left questioning his motives. Jackman’s character on the other hand wasn’t likeable at all, I found myself getting really agitated at some of the things he did in the film and considering he’s supposed to be a protagonist, he is not very relatable.
Overall, I think this is a fantastic film with good cinematography, style and acting. It’s definitely not for the faint hearted but it is for those who like a bit of drama and suspense.
