Prisoners

We have all seen films based on a particular person or event, but there are not too many films out there that are originally written for the screen which look like they would be based on an actual event, but actually not. During and after viewing "Prisoners", I had to keep telling myself that this is fictional, even though it was portrayed so realistically.

How far would you go to protect your family? Keller Dover (Hugh Jackman) is facing every parent's nightmare. His six-year-old daughter, Anna (Erin Gerasimovich), is missing, together with her young friend, Joy (Kyla-Drew Simmons), and as minutes turn to hours, panic sets in. The only lead is a dilapidated RV that had earlier been parked on their street. Heading the investigation, Detective Loki (Jake Gyllenhaal) arrests its driver, Alex Jones (Paul Dano), but a lack of evidence forces his release. As the police pursue multiple leads, and pressure mounts, knowing his child's life is at stake, the frantic Dover decides he has no choice but to take matters into his own hands. But how far will this desperate father go to protect his family?

Others to round out the cast are Viola Davis as Nancy Birch, mother of Joy, Maria Bello as Grace Dover, wife of Keller, Terrence Howard as Franklin Birch, father of Joy, Melissa Leo as Holly Jones, aunt of Alex, Dylan Minnette as Ralph Dover, brother of Anna, Zoe Soul as Eliza Birch, sister of Joy, Wayne Duvall as Capt. Richard O'Malley, Len Cariou as Father Patrick Dunn, David Dastmalchian as Bob Taylor, Brad James as Officer Carter, Anthony Reynolds as Officer Wedge, and Victoria Staley as Check out girl.

This was grippingly and intensely directed by Denis Villeneuve ("Un 32 aout sur terve" '98, "Maelstrom" 2000, "Polytechnique" '09, "Incendines" '10, "REW-FFWD" (Documentary short) '11). The underlying intensity of Gyllenhaal and the over-the-top raging emotion of Jackman was an amazing display of those that are realistically pushed to their respective limits. With the exception of a couple of small, slow areas in story, this was written with just the right amount of building of story by Aaron Guzikowski ("Contraband" '12). I'd like to see what this guy can do the the future, considering "Contraband" wasn't the best written script, but certainly not the worst. And this being so much better, time will only tell how this guy can write given more projects, which I'm sure he'll receive. With a running time of approximately two and a half hours, this just moved right along, which is difficult, at best, for a seasoned writer. Jackman, Gyllenhaal, and Leo all shine here as their characters.

The way this film was written, directed and especially acted made it seem so real, like it could have easily been based on a true story, but at the end of the day, it's just great storytelling at its best.

Out of 4 Stars: 3.5                        Rated: R                         153mins.