From certain
points of view the clean finality of death is more welcome than an unanswered
question of a disappearance. Of course the question always comes down to ‘is my
loved one dead?’
Keller Dover
(Hugh Jackman) is a proud man who keeps food, weapons, and materials in his
basement; thinking himself prepared when the whole world goes
to shit.
It did; just not in the way that he was preparing for. One day, underneath the nose of the Dover and Birch family, his daughter
Anna (Erin Gerasimovich) and best friend Joy Birch (Kyla-Drew Simmons)
disappeared without a trace.
Acting
If the variance
of grief and worry between each character are represented by color then
Prisoners would make a rainbow albeit a sad one considering the circumstances.
They make a great ensemble in how they deal with the missing girls. Each
character act and react so organically to the situation that I find myself
always agreeing with each one, or questioning myself, depending on what point
in the movie. Prisoners is
emotionally immersive that way.
Overall it is a Keller Dover show; I
understand him because what would I do if my wife looks on the verge of being
unhinged. If I were Ralph Dover (Dylan Minette) what would I do if alone had to
take care of my mother? Who
would I be between Franklin (Terrence Howard) and Nancy Birch (Viola Davis)?
In this
immersive emotional experience the closest to the audience is my favorite character
Detective Loki (Jake Gyllenhaal). I am a fan of Criminal Minds. Among all the
procedural drama that I have seen over the years it’s that show that I thought
about because it deals with psychos and kidnapping children is done by the
insane.
I imagined myself like a detective with experience (watching Criminal
Minds) that I would solve this mystery before the movie ends; in Detective Loki’s
case find the children alive. All I need do is remember whatever the detective uncovers and I might solve this case before him.
As the minutes
and hours pass – Prisoners is 2 hours and 25 minutes – I find myself like
Detective Loki unable to maintain the strict disinterest in solving the case.
The anguish of the parents who are understandably hammering the poor detective to
speed it up and the stakes of girls possibly raped, dying, or dead; it’s a
struggle.
What I love most
about Detective Loki or rather Jake Gyllenhaal is not related to the story.
The
could-have-been Spider-man actor (maybe on the recommendation of the Director
who knows) added a nuanced movement in the detective’s face. The muscles of the
eyebrows all move sometimes when Detective Loki blinks.
A harmless looking detail but of all the actors in Prisoners I was most able to forget Jake for
adding just that.
Pacing and Story
2 hours is a
tall order for a movie nowadays and also consider that this movie is devoid of
special effects, big explosions, or a fight scene, nevertheless, it had great
pacing. Surprisingly I always found myself interested.
Director Denis Villeneuve has perfectly timed the emotional entrance of new clues. Each time
it does the characters react until a new one comes along which may change the
original one.
The timing is perfect because I never felt any point the story becomes
flat and the key point here is emotional.
Clues are not
given cleanly like a Sherlock Holmes would. If Sherlock finds a
hair out of place, such a clue would be notched unemotionally like a number;
audiences wait for the famous detective to complete the equation and be
astounded how he adds up minuscule clues to make a whole.
In Prisoners
clues are emotionally filled messes but considering the stakes, one can’t help but bite. It’s like
real life in the way; clues don’t come packaged neatly as piece of larger
puzzle that all fits but they come as a chance to see that loved one alive.
I
was not as successful as I’d hope in solving the case being emotionally
engrossed as well.
When I watched
Prisoners the second time I had my eye out for the clues feeling cheated, embarrassed
that my experience in Criminal Minds did not help me solve the case. I consider
it a compliment for the filmmaker that I actually missed a villain monologue. It
says everything fits but it feels like there’s a hole somewhere.
Or maybe that
hole is something I don’t know or a victim will never know or don’t care
because something else is at stake - like a real life crime.
Less than perfect delivery but all in all a great movie
I don’t consider Prisoners as having a 100 percent perfect delivery. The care with which clues were released is the exact opposite of how the story ended. It feels too easy or rather too lucky. I missed it on the first watch too because the lucky break had a great payoff – again perfect timing.
When I saw it more in depth the second time, only then do I feel the ‘lucky break’ out of character with anyone in the film. Maybe this is the hole I am looking for?
I can think of a scenario where it is all possible but it is a stretch. That hiccup is not worth remembering now having still enjoyed the ensemble’s great emotional arc. What's more is that Prisoners is even beautiful second time around because new layers would be uncovered even with the same question.
Who are the prisoners?
Who are the prisoners?
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