Although crossing a multitude of ideas and themes, the film “Prisoners” is about a father named Keller Dover (Hugh Jackman, “The Prestige”) and his quest to find his missing daughter. It details how far he is willing to go to find her. At the beginning of the film, Keller’s daughter, along with the daughter of one his good friends, Franklin Birch (Terrence Howard, “Iron Man”) just disappears. Fed up with no results from the investigation, Keller takes matters into his own hands, believing that the reclusive Alex (Paul Dano, “Little Miss Sunshine”), whose RV was seen near the children, kidnapped her. The story follows Keller as well as the detective on the ca case, Loki (Jake Gyllenhaal, “Donnie Darko”), as they do whatever they can to find the missing girls.
The film was fantastic in every aspect from cinematography to the acting. For the most part, the dialogue was interesting. Oftentimes in serious movies about family, there seems to be an over-abundance of angry people yelling at each other while the conversation goes nowhere. Although there was some of that, the dialogue was necessary and relevant to the plot of the film. Several particular pieces of the film stuck out however. The first was the way the plot was organized. Since this is such a complicated film the story never gets old, mainly because the plot keeps changing directions. The film keeps the audience on their toes from the minute the girls disappeared. One can never be quite sure how the impulsive Dover or the determined Loki could react to any situation in particular. The film also has the ability to surprise the viewers when they least expect it. What one might initially think is just a simple case of finding the daughters turns into an elaborate maze of characters. The plot does a good job of keeping the viewer as curious and unsure about the kidnappings as the characters themselves. “Prisoners” is certainly a complicated movie, but not over complicated.
The characterization is also excellent, though Dover’s character sticks out in particular. In many films such as this, “Mystic River” for example, the father of the kidnapped girl is already a criminal. Yes, in “Mystic River” we see how far Sean Penn is pushed by his daughter’s disappearance, but is that really a surprise? Viewers know he is a criminal. How else could they expect Sean Penn to act? “Prisoners” is different because Dover is a very religious man who hasn’t had a drink in nine years. He has enough food for the apocalypse stored in his basement. He is essentially a normal guy. Dover is not a violent man, yet we see his daughter’s kidnapping push him to lengths we never would have expected him to go to find her.
Hugh Jackman’s acting was great as Keller Dover, as was Paul Dano’s portrayal of the quiet introvert Alex that Dover believes kidnapped his daughter. Dano did an exceptional job of making the viewers feel sympathy for a man that may well have killed two children.
All in all, “Prisoners” is an excellent film. It will keep you terrified of what will happen next because of how real it feels. Jackman’s performance is good, though it is Paul Dano’s portrayal of Alex that really seems to steal the show. The only piece of this that viewers might not enjoy is that the film seems to change directions toward the end. However, the twist is just as interesting if not more so, because viewers are completely unsure of what will happen. “Prisoners” is an exceptional movie. See it!
