PRISONERS REVIEW

*MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS*

Let me start off by saying that Prisoners is not for the faint hearted. It's dark and, at times, disturbing. The narrative focuses on Keller Dover (Hugh Jackman), whose daughter and her friend have recently disappeared, and Loki (Jake Gyllenhaal), the detective who is working on the case.

The film begins on Thanksgiving and Keller, his wife and their two children, a son Ralph and daughter Anna, are celebrating with their friends, Franklin (Terence Howard) and Nancy Birch (Viola Davis) who have a daughter, Joy. The two girls play outside for a bit but it isn't long until the family notice they have disappeared and this is where a horrific journey begins.

This film perfectly shows what it's like to have children disappear. Jackman is perfect as the father who wants his daughter to be found and will do whatever it takes to get her back. He even kidnaps Alex Jones (Paul Dano), an adult who has the IQ of a 10 year old, as he believes Alex took the children. This leads to a series of cruel tortures where Keller imprisons him in his father's old and abandoned house. 

Gyllenhaal is great as Detective Loki, the cop who has rarely failed a case until now. Like Keller, he wants to find the two missing girls and does whatever he can but this becomes increasingly difficult for him.

This was released in late 2013, when I had just turned 16. At the time, I wasn't interested in watching films like this. However, I watched it two years later and I think I underestimated how dark and disturbing it was going to be. Halfway through the film, I wasn't sure if I wanted to carry on watching but I knew I had to find out what happened to the two missing girls. 

It's a shame Prisoners was only nominated for one Oscar (Best Achievement in Cinematography) as I do think it could have been nominated for more. However, looking at the Oscars nominees and winners in 2014, I can understand why it was overlooked. 12 Years A Slave and Gravity were the big winners that year, both of which are incredible films. 

There have been many thrillers made but none of them have emotionally affected me like Prisoners. It teaches us that who we may suspect isn't guilty after all and the guilty can be the most unexpected person. For a while, I did think Alex Jones was guilty, after what he whispered to Keller but I soon knew it couldn't have been him which led me to trying to guess who it could be. Of course, I was wrong. I'm not going to say who did it but what I loved about this film was its unpredictability.

If you don't mind dark and dramatic thrillers, I'd recommend this film. 

It's not a film I would watch again due to the darkness of the film but I will say it's brilliantly made and includes some of Jackman and Gyllenhaal's best acting performances.

8/10