Review - Prisoners (2013)

A thematically hefty thriller which almost falls apart of its own weight

"I'm angry all the time!"

 

Canadian director Denis Villeneuve has a strong penchant for criticism of religious doctrines and reflection of cyclic nature of violence. His internationally acclaimed work Incendies, reflected upon these themes with bold and broad stokes. Even though the plot of the film was very contrived, it created a deep impact and left viewers in shock and awe. With his Hollywood debut, Villeneuve has created the same effective atmosphere and laid out his narrative in a precise manner, but he couldn't really pull-off an Incendies.

As the title suggests, many of the film's characters are prisoners of some sort. Some are prisoners of violence, some of avengement, some of fear and some others of literal confinement. Like any other Villeneuve work, it does not functions alone as an abduction film, even on surface it appears to be. Starring Hugh Jackman and Jake Gyllenhaal, the film explores a multitude of themes, ranging from moral ambiguity of violence to the absurdity of religious faith, all interwoven in an intriguing whodunit story. 

Somewhere in a Pennsylvanian town, Keller Dover (Jackman) and Franklin Birch's (Terrence Howard) daughters are abducted after Thanksgiving dinner. Dover's son has previously spotted an RV near their premises where the girls were playing. After much expedient search around the neighborhood,  the police is involved and Detective Loki (Gyllenhaal) is assigned the task to find the girls. The RV is tracked and the person driving it, Alex Jones (Paul Dano), is brought under custody. On prima facie, Jones, a man with seemingly low IQ, has nothing to do with abductions. Much to the ire of the parents of the girls, Jones is released after thorough questioning, and already furious Dover decides to take the matter into his own hands. He takes Jones as his prisoner and goes third degree on him, completely convinced that he is the miscreant.

From this point onwards, things complicate a bit. Aaron Guzikowski's script becomes increasingly convoluted as more and more subplots are introduced. Dectective Loki, in particular, finds two more leads - one, a pedophile priest and the other, a creepy bloke who appeared on a vigil. During all this, Dover brings Franklin along, to extract truth from Jones. Scenes involving Jones' torture are particularly hard to watch - Villeneuve, with his unflinching vision as witnessed in Incendies, keeps the horrors of torture intact and yet never goes overboard. In some way, the film starts to portray the main protagonist in a grey shade even though his actions are somewhat justified in the context of the situation he is facing. In the second half, many incidents end up just being a red-herring (a fault that thrillers cannot do without), but thanks to skifull grim visual style, you never escape the film's brooding bleak atmosphere (which in literal terms, is predominantly rainy and very cold). Roger Deakins has created some beautiful frames which are composed in such a way that the characters always appear "imprisoned" - let it be within the car windows, glass panes or doors. 

The film belongs to Hugh Jackman. Even though he's surrounded by exceptionally talented cast members like Jake Gyllenhaal, Viola Davis and Melissa Leo, he outshines every one of them. His performance is a perfect amalgamation of fear, anger and distrust; his aggression leaps out of his stature in the ripples of violence. There is one particular scene involving a hand and a hammer which will definitely remain in your memories for a long time. Apart from him, Melissa Leo brilliantly portrays a major character in the film, which I don't dare to spoil it for you. Jake Gyllenhaal is stoic and sullen in early scenes, and highly emotive near the end, which perfectly suits his character arc.

Prisoners tries too hard to underline its themes. It succeeds in justifying some and failing in the others. An abduction plot with a typical thriller treatment bodes well with the theme of moral ambiguity and cyclic nature of violence, but does not bode well with the criticism of religious faith, lacking strong arguments against it. Still, Prisoners' biggest strength is its atmosphere. It sucks you in from the moment it starts, which only proves that Villeneuve is a director to watch out for.

3.5/5