Prisoners

“Why are you making me do this?” So, Prisoners has always been lurking just outside the edges of my radar. It’s a movie by a guy whose work I usually adore, and the premise has always caught my attention, but it’s never been on a streaming service I’ve had and I hadn’t seen the Blu-ray…until recently. I just picked it up for $5 sealed from a grocery store near me, and I couldn’t be happier. So here we go. The story of Prisoners is draining, draining to the point of pretty unadulterated despair. There’s a level of hope that barely makes itself evident in the deep background, but it can fade into non-existence at times. A lot of the feelings I have about the tone of the movie are perpetuated by the performances of some people, but I’ll get to that later. Some of the twists are clever, really clever. Not only are some of them the hands that mold the clay of the story, but some of them add flavor and understanding to what’s going on. I love the story of this movie. It’s eerie knowing that the children, who think they’re being afforded a chance to go home to their families, will never actually go home unless they break free or are otherwise saved. It’s just as eerie knowing that Alex was at his core attempting to help Keller, just in the only way he could. He’s as much a victim as Keller’s daughter, even if he’s a participant in something he’s known exclusively for his sentient life, all things considered. I love a movie where even if the perceived “good ending” is what you end up with, you’d be hard pressed to consider anybody a winner. There’s an authenticity factor to Prisoners that I think is exceptionally hard to compare to another movie I’ve seen. These truly do feel like real people, not actors portraying people. Keller Dover is stuck in a hell that hits at him from angles he wouldn’t dare compound even in his most deep and dark nightmares. Not only is his daughter gone, but his sense of overwhelming protection over his family vanishes along with her. It’s hard to watch as a man. For those reasons, his response to that multi-faceted attack is pretty easy to understand, if not condone. Roger Deakins did everything in his power to make sure that Prisoners is a uniquely Denis Villeneuve film with the style of cinematography while also being beautiful and tense at every moment, some of my favorite camerawork I’ve ever seen. Speaking of Denis, I think Prisoners slots right under Dune Part Two for me in his filmography, although I know I’m missing some big ones like Incendies. The score is magic, pure magic as well. It’s longing, like it wants to be completed but will forever be a shallow and hollow tone that reminds you with every note that nobody will win in the end. The goal was to turn men and women into demons, and that despicable target is met in my estimation. The children are just a byproduct. Also, just career defining performances from Hugh Jackman and Jake Gyllenhaal. The best $5 I’ve ever spent? Certainly possible. Prisoners very quickly worked itself into a high position on my list of favorite movies, and it probably just misses out on the top 4. It boasts one of my favorite stories ever, and the execution of that story was well done to the level that only someone like Denis Villeneuve could accomplish. This will be my third 5 star review in a row, so I feel like one of those notorious Letterboxd idiots who rate everything too highly, but how can you blame me when my last three films are this, Dr. Strangelove, and Seven Samurai. Who cares, I do this for myself anyway lol. Also, Paul Dano’s character being named Alex Jones is objectively funny.