Prisoners

I hope that on the day that I finally decide to have children, I will still be able to watch any movie I want to.  I am not talking about having the time to watch them, because I am smart enough to know that on this day my life will forever be over and I will have zero time for myself. But I am talking about actually having the stomach to sit through some of the trippy movies I currently see, once the kid graduates and leaves the house that is. Apparently my buddy who has a 3 year daughter can no longer watch any movie that involves child abduction, child abuse, or even children zombies! And keep in mind this dude more than likely owns the director’s cut of Human Centipede, so as you can see he watches and loves despicable movies. Not to mention the fact that he’s probably seen Labyrinth about a thousand times and considering the outfits David Bowie was wearing around a very young Jennifer Connelly in that movie, that alone should put my friend on someone’s watch list! The point is, I just can’t imagine a world where I am no longer able to sit through The Big Lebowski where I laugh at Walter warning The Dude about the new local pederast who just joined their bowling league. “…and pull the trigger until it goes CLICK!”

As I was telling him about the new movie Prisoners, he cut me off before I could even get a word in. “No way I’m seeing that movie dude!” To his credit, this movie has messed with me for days and I am just now able to write about it. The trailer makes it look like it's only a slightly creepier version of the terrible CBS drama Without a Trace, but it is a far cry from the typical child abduction movie that you are used to seeing. The overall premise is fairly familiar; Hugh Jackman and his family join Terrance Howard and his for a Thanksgiving dinner. After dinner, their two younger daughters ask if they can go outside and play. The family thinks nothing of it because they live in a rather small rural town and in a neighborhood where everyone knows one another. However earlier when their older siblings where with them, they noticed a creepy RV parked on the road and warned the girls not to play around it. Well after some time, the girls don’t come back home and the manhunt is on for the person or persons that took them.

The local detective Loki (Gyllenhaal), who has never had an unresolved abduction case, immediately tracks down the RV to find Alex (Paul Dano); who turns out to be an adult with the IQ of a small toddler. After a lengthy interrogation, he concludes that there is no way he could’ve kidnapped their girls and lets him go. Keller (Jackman) can’t let go of his belief that Alex is guilty, especially based off of something Alex whispered to him as he was being released, so he decides to take matters into his own hands and kidnaps Alex.

This movie tugs at both your emotions and your morals in a way that makes you uncomfortable. Is it ok what Keller is doing? At what point is he taking it too far? Wouldn’t you do anything humanly conceivable to get your daughter back? In the meantime, the director Denis Villeneuve introduces you to some of the creepiest characters you will ever meet. His impeccable use of the stale, cold, and grimy set design helps to create this sense of impending doom.  With each old house and each dark basement the characters enter, you can’t help but be in edge. The second I got home, I turned on every light I have in my apartment!

 Even though he’s basically a child, Paul Dano with his subtle use of mannerisms, facial expressions, and an almost hunchback posture turns Alex into one of the most interesting villains I’ve seen on screen in a long time. He absolutely owns this role and has carved out a nice little career for himself even if it is playing creeps in every movie. I love Jake Gyllenhaal, mainly because of Donnie Darko, but he normally just plays slight variations of Donnie. Not in this film.  At first he comes off as kind of dick but as the movie continues you can tell that he’s just trying not to get too close to the parents just in case he’s not able to find the kids, or in case the parents themselves are a part of the kidnapping. You learn that he has personal reasons that motivate him to be as good as he is at his job and as their window of time to find these girls gets smaller and smaller, you see the desperation coming out in every one of his actions.

Hugh Jackman locks up an Oscar nomination with his performance here and every time Viola Davis sets foot on anyone’s set, it seems like she deserves one as well. Just when you think you have this movie figured out, it takes another turn and you realize you have no clue what is going on. I initially wanted to rate this movie as fresh but the more I think about it, it deserves a rating of TIGHT! There are some images that will live you for a while and prepare yourself for a jaw dropping final scene.