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Reviewed: Prisoners (2013) - DVD

Written by (Editor) on 8th February 2014

Prisoners, out on DVD, is a mystery and a social thriller that is full of difficult questions and compelling performances...

Review -Prisoners DVDWhile visting friends further up the street, the Dover family (Hugh Jackman, Mario Bello as the parents, Keller and Grace) allow their daughter and their friend's daughter to return to the their house to retrieve a beloved toy whistle. An hour later and both families begin to realise that no-one has seen the girls since. A strange camper van was seen at the bottom of the road, but there is no sign of the youngsters. Keller and his neighbours, The Birchs (Terrence Howard and Viola Davis) search in vain.

The police are informed and corner a suspect, Alex Jones (Paul Dano) in his camper van when he tries to make a run for it. However there is little but circumstantial evidence to hold him and despite Keller Dover's pleas and an angry confrontation outside the police station, Jones is released. However Dover is the only one who hears Jones whisper that the children weren't 'allowed to cry' and determines to make him pay.  As the search continues for the girls and precious time ticks by, Keller takes the law into his own hands and secretly kidnaps and imprisons Jones in an old house, willing to torture him in brutal fashion to get a confession or information that may yet save his child.

Meanwhile Police Detective Loki  (Jake Gyllenhaal) takes a personal interest in the case, walking the delicate line between suspicions and hard evidence. As Keller and Loki take their own perilous steps towards uncovering the facts, both men face some unplesant truths and find their faith in humanity tested. Ultimately, the secrets of the present crime are buried in the past and before the end of the week, there will be escalating tragedies to face...

Most cinematic thrillers are larger-than-life, concerned with audacious robberies, unlikely coincidences and charismatic characters.  They are flashy, stylish and ask you to suspend disbelief. Prisoners, at least initially, is not one of those films. It's about the darker, quieter places; the small things that become big things, about the kind of mistakes and events that actually DO happen and that you pray never happen to you.

For the first third of the movie the pain and frustration that all the main characters are going through is raw. A child gone missing when they were only supposed to be out of sight for a few minutes is the special, singular kind of nightmare that any person - particularly any parent - can feel gnawing at them every day until they are within sigth again. It's the most human 'What if...'

Hugh Jackman and Paul Dano in PrisonersWe're used to seeing Jackman play the noble hero, but his Keller Dover is, in his own way, more savage a cornered beast than any Wolverine. Jackman's character is a god-fearing, survivalist and proud hunter and the fact that he wasn't able to protect his own child in his own street eats away at the edges of his humanity, sending him to a place his pride demands and his mind considers the lesser of two evils. 

With the angry Jackman initially at the swirling centre of the moral quandry, Gyllenhaal's role as the investigating officer is one that could have been overlooked or downplayed. However the actor is an integral part of the story and brings a compelling and sympathetic air to a tenacious detective genuinelly troubled by the lack of direct evidence - sure that Jones is not the innocent he claims to be but yet not completely convinced that he's the guilty party in this case. He wants to go by the book but is also aware that Dover's righteous anger is growing. The more time passes, the more danger there is that the situation will either go unsolved or escalate because of emotions rather than something that will stand up in court.

Prisoners is ultimately about the basic instincts of fear, pain, justice and survival and what anyone might consider doing - or actually be prepared to do - under the most extreme circumstances.  It is not easy viewing and it asks something of a viewer who might normally expect to be spoon-fed the story in easy bite-size chunks. However Denis Villeneuve's direction is assured and steady, beautifully lit and shot, giving the film both a laconic yet urgent pace rarely seen in feature films and the slow-developing mystery element surrounding the bigger picture more often found in a television mini-series.

One could argue the film goes on about fifteen minutes too long, its climax moving it away from the compelling social comment and vaccilatng arguments about the nature of torture and returning the movie to more traditional thriller roots. This change in the spotlight means there's a sudden shift in the ensemble nature of the piece in which some of the previous characters' developments are discarded to concentrate on other players . In some ways it's a shame, given what has come before, but it still leaves you hanging on every word to see how it will all play out and what it will ultimately leave in its wake. One suspects the actual ending will generate some further discussion... but it is satisfying enough.

It was a moderate financial and solid critical success on ists cinematic reelase in late 2013 and the DVD retains its power. Not an easy or quick film to watch and not without some quirks and fault-lines that might niggle after the fact but it's as dark and twisted a thriller as you're likely to have seen in quite a while...and worth the time.

Prisoners (15) is released this week by EntertainmentOne, priced £19.99 on DVD and £24.99 on Blu-ray...

Review score: 9 out of 10

Written By

John Mosby

Editor

John Mosby

Born at a early age, creative writing and artwork seemed to be in John’s blood from the start Even before leaving school he was a runner up in the classic Jackanory Writing Competition and began...

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