Prisoners (Dir. Denis Villeneuve/2013)
With high profile, well-received casting that includes Hugh
Jackman, Paul Dano, Jake Gyllenhaal and Terence Howard, Prisoners has the ingredients of becoming a favourite during the
awards season. Unfortunately, strained pacing and unresolved threads will leave
this thriller amongst the many forgotten moody movies that could’ve been
something so much stronger. The Devon’s (Bello and Jackman) and The Birches
(Howard and Davies) lose their two girls one rainy night – and it is clear that
the driver of an RV, Alex Jones (Dano), is the prime suspect. While Detective
Loki (Gyllenhaal) tries to find the truth, the families take it into their own
hands and confront Alex directly. Deep and dark cinematography turn a suburban
town into a fearsome environment, whereby the shadows of houses and
white-picket fences become a prison unto itself – but Prisoners drags through weak dialogue and dubious morals leaving
you unsatisfied. Overall, Prisoners is
mediocre at best.
Rating: 3/10
