Rent Prisoners (2013)

Overlong, contrived - but watchable - thriller - Prisoners review by PV

The first thing to say is that this movie is 2 hours 20 minutes long. 30 minutes could have been cut, but it suffers from the modern Hollywood disease of stretching movies past the 2 hour point. Silence of the Lambs was around 90 minutes. Look and learn.

Secondly, the plot is full of coincidences and contrived plot points - and some holes. I simply don't believe the persons responsible would not have been caught or at least investigated earlier. The plot also 'jumps the shark' (the snake...) a wee bit.

Having said this, I enjoyed the film - interesting and believable characters, esp Jake G and the Mr Dover character - maintained the interest. Some of the minor characters went in for drama school histrionics (USA drama schools must teach this as I have seen examples of such hissy fits in many modern movies - but it really isn't believable).

The thriller maintains the interest and has some interesting - if contrived - twists and turns. Guessed the true situation early on, however, as I knew this is where a script writer would go.

3.5 stars.

A ride of a thriller - Prisoners review by Alphaville

Beautifully written, acted and directed, this intense thriller doesn’t waste a scene as it immerses you in the search for two missing girls in rural Pennsylvania. There are suspects and father Hugh Jackman isn‘t going to play by the rules no matter what frazzled cop Jake Gyllenhaal tells him. Does the title refer to the girls, the suspects or Hugh and Jake? It’s brutal, disturbing, exciting and packed full of engrossing scenes.

A heart-wrenching, staggering, gripping & phenomenally acted masterpiece - Prisoners review by TB

Prisoners is sensational. It is a film which pushes your buttons & from the opening scenes grips you like a vice. It is also a film which in no way gives you easy answers to impossible questions & scenarios. Anybody who has a beating heart will find themselves running through their mind what they would do, even in the most horrific & awful moments. That it never descends into torture porn & clichéd revolting violence is testament to the perfect direction, script & performances.

Keller Dover lives in a tight-knit neighborhood with his wife & daughter. One day, his daughter & her best friend suddenly vanish after Thanksgiving dinner, with them last being seen playing on a dilapidated & old RV parked in the neighborhood. The driver is quickly traced & brought in for questioning by Detective Loki, but has to be released due to insufficient evidence. When confronting the driver (an extremely developmentally challenged man called Alex Jones,) Dover is goaded by Jones & becomes convinced that he know more than he is saying. Dover then kidnaps Jones along with the other girl's father Franklin Birch, then imprison & torture him for answers.

The thing that the film conveys more effectively than anything is the slow dread & fear which just keeps getting tighter & tighter. You feel at all times the desperation of the fathers, particularly Dover, who is a rough & ready blue collar worker who you can tell very early on has had an unbelievably difficult life & is just trying to support his family. Once this is threatened, you see clearly & unflinchingly what this attack against his family does to Dover.

Detective Loki is also someone who clearly comes across as a broken man, who is trying to in many ways piece his life back together & right the wrongs he has committed before. The tattoos on his neck as well as his personal outlook tell a thousand stories without a word of dialogue. But you also know he's a man of his word, so when he tells the parents that he is going to get their daughters back for them, you know he will break himself in half sooner than admit defeat. The many scenes he has with both the families & also with Dover on his own are masterclasses in dramatic tension & acting.

Not one actor/performance rings false. Not one person isn't perfect. Paul Dano is incredible with how he manages to, with very few lines, communicate so clearly his fear but also cunning. Terrance Howard is amazing as the other kidnapped girl's father, going in the opposite direction to Dover. He is broken but also determined not to become the monster that his emotions threaten to at every moment overcome him. And as Dover, Hugh Jackman gives what is to me his greatest ever performance. How he is able to become this broken husk of a man whose determination to find his child then becomes a white-hot cauldron of rage & violence is a testament to behold & watch. He also, with his acting, shows you as the viewer how, when the thing that you most love is taken away from you, you can be capable of the most heinous & dark actions.

Looks wise, the film is staggeringly shot, using mainly natural light to become almost another character, which is what great cinematography should always strive to be. Locations are amazing as well.

And marshalling all this is the incredible talent of Denis Villeneuve. What could have become a twisted, almost Chuck Norris style vigilante movie becomes a profound & extremely difficult musing on what you should and can do when you are in a situation where you can quite easily lose your humanity.

A difficult but absolutely must watch masterpiece.

Watch it! - Prisoners review by UF

A dramatic and emotionally draining thriller, that held my attention for the full 2 hours 20 minutes. The ensemble cast is first rate, however it's Hugh Jackman who impressed the most with a very raw and emotional portrayal of a man wanting to protect his family.

I definitely recommend this one.

My rating: 4/5

best film ever - Prisoners review by CLK

totally gripped. We're not avid film watchers to be honest but I'd say this is the best film I've seen in years. Totally and utterly brilliant :-)

Entertaining - Prisoners review by KH

Interesting idea, how the victim becomes the aggressor. Some good characterisations well acted. Perhaps a tad too long?

A good attempt to "up" the genre norms. - Prisoners review by DW

I like a nice long film providing it holds my attention; this one did. If you like to be entertained & the "price" of your ticket is to suspend your belief in realism, so what?

This is not just an "off the studio shelf" US cop/thriller film in that some themes of human nature are looked at untypically closely. Sit back & enjoy would be my best advice.