(Download Prisoners) To what extremes would you go to if your child was missing? Hugh Jackman has to answer that question in Prisoners also starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Paul Dano and Terrence Howard. Will this thriller be one of the best movies of the year or a box office flop?
On Thanksgiving, Keller Dover and his family go across the street to the Birch residence to celebrate the holiday. Everything is going well until the two families realize that their two little girls are missing.(Prisoners Download) They were supposed to just go back home to find something, but never returned. After doing a quick search of the neighborhood, they immediately call the police.
The officer assigned to the case is Detective Loki. The only lead he has is that a mysterious RV was parked in the neighborhood prior to the disappearance of the two girls. The RV is found and a man with the mentality of a ten year old is arrested.(Download Prisoners Movie) Unfortunately after two days of intense questioning and forensics sweeps of the vehicle the police come up with zero results.The only suspect named Alex Jones is released.
(Download Prisoners) This infuriates Keller and he attacks Alex in the parking lot of the police station as he is being released to his aunt’s custody in front of news cameras. Unwilling to accept this, Keller stalks the man he thinks is responsible and captures him. He places him in a makeshift bathroom dungeon in a run down apartment complex that he owns. His plan is to beat and torture him until he talks. Will Keller be able to get the answers he wants while Detective Loki attempts to solve the case before time runs out for the little girls.
(Download Prisoners) Every day children go missing. Whether they run away, get abandoned, or are abducted, this is an ongoing crisis in the United States. Stories of victims like Adam Walsh bring communities to tears while rescues of kids like Elizabeth Smart, Gina DeJesus, and Amanda Berry inspire hope for the lost and exploited. Prisoners is the story of two men. A father that will go outside of the law to find his little girl and the detective who must work within it. As a father of four kids, (Download Prisoners) three of them little girls, this is the biggest nightmare I could ever face. I was actually kind of scared that the movie would mess me up mentally in the same way sour milk upsets a stomach. What Prisoners actually does is make you question your own morality. It forces you to look in the mirror and decide if you are ok with justified violence. You may not condone it, but will you condemn it?
(Download Prisoners) Hugh Jackman plays Keller Dover. He is a god fearing man who believes in his father’s philosophy of pray for the best, prepare for the worst. As the patriarch of the family, he believes his main job is to protect the ones he loves and feels like a failure when his girl disappears. This is probably one of the best performances I’ve ever seen Jackman in. He brings to the character a wide range of raw emotions like anger, desperation, and frustration. As a father, I could totally relate. I don’t think I could go to the extremes as Jackman does, but at the same time, I think I could if I was desperate enough. The torture scenes were the hardest to watch,(Download Prisoners) because a lot of it is portrayed as implied violence off screen to allow your imagination to take over. Jackman’s character is so distraught and internally conflicted as he knows what he is doing is horrible. He prays to God as he weeps to forgive him in his atrocities, but feels it is justified in his heart. You know Keller is a good man, but he is broken and results in doing bad things for the sake of his daughter and family. He wants some sort of closure that he feels the police are not able to provide.
(Download Prisoners) The main police officer in the story is Detective Loki portrayed by Jake Gyllenhaal. With last year’s End of Watch being one of my top ten movies of 2012, I can say that Gyllenhaal provides movie goers with another fantastic performance. His character is a bit unorthodox looking for a police man. He sports some odd tattoos on his neck and hands like he spent time in prison or grew up a delinquent. But what isn’t unorthodox is his persistence. His character personified every law enforcement agent or rescue worker determined to reunite a lost child with their family. He does care, but isn’t allowed to let the chaos affect him. His performance slightly reminded me his character in Zodiac, but with more experience and divorced from emotions.
(Download Prisoners) The main suspect of the abduction is Paul Dano (Looper/Cowboys & Aliens) as Alex Jones. He reminded me a lot of Lenny from Of Mice and Men. He was simple minded but at anytime could snap. One scene in particular that I won’t spoil, gives you just enough of an opinion about him that you internally agree with the terror he endures at the hands of Keller, yet still have the ability to grieve for him. It’s a simple yet complex character play plays like a villain and victim all at the same time.
(Download Prisoners) Rounding out the rest of the cast is Maria Bello as Keller’s wife Grace Dover, Terrence Howard as Franklin Birch, Viola Davis as his wife Nancy, and Melissa Leo as Alex’s Aunt Holly. Everyone in the cast did a great job with their supporting roles. Grace takes to prescription medication to cope with the loss. Franklin and Nancy don’t want to help in the torture, but don’t want to stop it either. Each character becomes almost the different stages of grief so as to be relatable to everyone in the audience.
(Download Prisoners) What Prisoners does so well is provide an environment for its characters to overcome the organized chaos. The film does a great job slowly unraveling the mystery with obvious clues yet makes you second guess your instincts with its red herrings. The music score does a good job setting the ominous tone of the movie, then it completely removes all soundtrack so you hear every breath and heartbeat from the characters. It was at these times that the movie wanted all focus on the characters. Prisoners could have easily showed the graphic violence, but I thought it was actually brilliant that the majority was off screen to let the viewer imagine the horror.
(Download Prisoners) The only thing I could gripe about is the film’s length. At over two and a half hours long, some of the pacing seemed slow, but in actuality it was very thorough in set up and character development. Once complaint I heard leaving was with the film’s ending. Some people did not at all like how it ended because it didn’t answer every question. I personally like how it ended because it allows audience members come up with a definite ending they are comfortable with.
(Download Prisoners) Prisoners isn’t as graphic as a thriller like The Silence of the Lambs or Se7en, because this isn’t a glorification of the villain. It also doesn’t show the violence in action against the children. You know the kids are in danger, but it is tastefully portrayed. This is a movie from the victim’s point of view and how it’s easy to become the very evil you are fighting against. As a dad, one part of the movie that really made me ball up was when I saw Jackman burst into tears at the realization that his child might be dead. It was a really simple yet powerful scene. I really enjoyed Prisoners not only as a movie lover but as a parent.(Watch Prisoners Online) I guarantee this movie will spark many legal and moral debates.