REVIEW: Prisoners

Courtesy of Warner Bros.

Most people, whether they’re insurance salesmen or soldiers, tend to harbor delusions of grandeur when it comes to protecting their families. They like to think that when that moment of truth comes, they’ll somehow transform into John Wayne and do whatever it takes to save the day. The sad truth is real life doesn’t work that way; the vast majority of the time, when something horrific happens to a loved one, we’re powerless to stop it.

But what happens when you’re prepared to hurt somebody who might not even be guilty? Or, worse yet, you realize savagely torturing someone is a disturbing attempt to assert power in an otherwise helpless situation?

Prisoners, a bleak drama starring Hugh Jackman and Jake Gyllenhaal, wrestles with these concepts in stark, brutally honest fashion. Until the story surrenders to clichéd movie logic in its final 20 minutes, it makes the case that pursuing justice at any cost often results in becoming just as damaged as the initial perpetrator.

Jackman plays Keller Dover, a family man whose world falls apart after his six-year-old daughter and her friend are abducted. The only clue to their disappearance is a dilapidated RV they were playing on earlier in the day.

Detective Loki (Gyllenhaal) tracks it down within a few hours and arrests Alex Jones (Paul Dano), a young man whose stereotypically creepy demeanor leads the cops to assume they’ve caught the culprit. However, there’s no evidence to suggest the girls were ever in the camper and an interrogation of the driver reveals he has the mind of a child. With no other choice, Loki is forced to release his only suspect.

As you might imagine, Dover doesn’t handle this development well. In a desperate move, he takes Jones hostage with the intent of torturing him until he reveals the girls’ location. But as the young man remains silent through hellacious treatment, the grieving father does his best to ignore the glaring questions. What if Jones truly is innocent? And if so, doesn’t that make Dover just as sadistic as the monster who actually took his daughter?

Aaron Guzikowski’s screenplay poses some frank, difficult questions about fatherhood, justice and man’s struggle with morality. That’s why it’s so frustrating to watch Prisoners throw complexity out the window in favor of a villain who explains exactly why and how the crime was committed in a ridiculous monologue.

Surprisingly nuanced performances from Jackman and Gyllenhaal, along with fine supporting work from Dano, Terrence Howard, Viola Davis and Maria Bello, keep the 153-minute film from feeling like a miserable slog (though it could’ve easily lost a half-hour in editing). Denis Villeneuve, directing his first English-language feature, confidently maintains the film’s tone – bleak, but not nihilistic – and understands what a secret weapon he has in director of photographer Roger Deakins.

There’s a reason Deakins is one of the most sought-after cinematographers in the industry. Every frame of Prisoners is gorgeous, no matter how gut-wrenching the subject matter becomes. Even in the movie’s formulaic final moments, there’s nothing disappointing about the visuals.

Prisoners is rated R for disturbing violent content including torture, and language throughout.

Grade: B-