Prisoners Review

Prisoners (2013): The Oscar season has begun. Kicking off the season this year is Prisoners from director Denis Villeneuve and starring Hugh Jackman and Jake Gyllenhaal along with a great supporting cast. The premise is very simple. Two girls go missing after Thanksgiving dinner. The movie follows the efforts of Jackman's and Terrence Howard's families and the efforts of Gyllenhaal as Detective Loki to try and find the girls and bring them home. The movie follows Gyllenhaal as he uses his police work to follow leads, while at the same time follow Jackman as we watch how far he is willing to go to bring his daughter home.

As I said, the plot is very straight forward and easy to follow. Where this movie deserves its praise is in the directing and editing. The movie could have gone the easy route and used quick cuts to build tension, but instead scenes linger and allow the actors to work. It builds natural tension with the long scenes. It also makes it feel very real. Background music is absent is much of the movie and that helps a lot as well. The movie is not telling the audience how they should be feeling at the moment and instead rely on the actors to convey what is going on in each scene.

So since the acting carried the movie, was it good? Yes it was. Jake Gyllenhaal was probably my favorite actor in the movie. He was very toned down and held back from going over the top when he could have. Hugh Jackman played his role very well too. He was very much the protective father who would go to all lengths to find his daughter. His scenes with Paul Dano were filled with tension and very good. The supporting cast was awesome throughout. The only actor/actress I did not like would have been Jackman's wife in the movie, Maria Bello. Her performance was the only one I did not enjoy and probably could have been handled slightly better or slightly different.

At 2 hours and 33 minutes of run time, it is a lengthy movie. But it does not feel like it. You are interested for pretty much the entire time. And be careful because if you leave to go to the bathroom during it you may just miss something. This movie was a fantastic way to kick off Oscar season and I can't wait for the rest. I am giving Prisoners a Blu-Ray.

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