Prisoners

Denis Villeneuve try to miss challenge (impossible) Villeneuve began writing and directing in 1998 with two features before nearly a 10 year absence besides two short films and upon his return his films Polytechnique then later Incendies which was a film based on a mass shooting in Montreal and a searing war drama adapted from a play respectively. While at the time after these releases in 2010 many general audiences were still unfamiliar with the Canadian director but his most recent films were being recognized within critical circles as impressive feats with Villeneuve being highlighted as a director to watch. This early recognition must have bled through to acting circles for his next film in 2013 would have some massive caliber actors interested in the project and once the new director was confirmed, these huge stars remained with an amble budget applied for a vision to be enacted. This would be represented by the addition of world class technicians like sir Rodger Deakins as DP or Jóhann Jóhannsson working the score and the large budget supplied to Villeneuve for his relentlessly bleak, phenomenally executed crime thriller Prisoners which released fall of 2013. The film was a great success upon release and marked a run of films where Villeneuve only served as director and not writer with all the films being not only phenomenal but distinct in how their shown which I believe helped him increase his work rate compared to the previous decade. Prisons was a story originally formulated by Aaron Guzikowski who was expanding a short he wrote based off elements of Edgar Allan Poe and a grieving father who’s lost a son, what eventually resulted in Prisoners is one of the must unwinding displays of procedural crime probably ever. While this is a fictional story, these events have never felt more real through the way they are acted from everyone and captured with the upmost sense of suburban panic, providing less and less hope results in one of the heavy films you’ll find even though the actual graphic events are being mostly withheld from you. One of the more engaging thrillers will leaving you completely tense from start finish while also backing incredibly dual depth in its title as characters collapse under the weight of their own failures in the confinements of their situations, their communities and themselves as a whole. Crushing film that I should have revisited long ago since rarely does this type of darkness not come across as morose, I can see and respect the comparisons of this being our generations Se7en in a much more plausible setting that’s still completely hopeless. Denis Villeneuve’s hit rate is insane how long is the guy going to bat 1000%. Taking place in Pennsylvania more specifically the fictional town of Conyers we meet the Dover family consisting of Keller (Hugh Jackman) and Grace (Maria Bello) and their two kids who are going to spend thanksgiving with their close friends the Birchs’, Franklin (Terrance Howard) and Nancy (Viola Davis) with their two children. While things seem normal on this day and in their lives despite everyday problems, things change instantly when the families two youngest daughters are now missing with little to go on but small clues. A detective named Loki (Jake Gyllenhaal) is assigned to the case and becomes increasingly fixated on helping provide any form of solace to this grieving family whose father Keller is now becoming increasingly unhinged. The two never come fully at odds with one another or begin working together however both are frantically searching for the same answers that have begun breaking them down. Information slowly unfolds as the audience feels every single precious second just like those involved “praying for the best, expecting the worst”. Full transparency this is only maybe the second or third time that I’ve seen this in its entirety and at least the first time in 5 years so Jesus getting reminded it how insanely well made and intense something like Prisoners is, was something I absolutely needed in my life. The most baffling thing to me is how Villeneuve can make only a few features with long breaks in between but people were still able to see that the guy is a visionary and the second he started being able to create off of other people writing is when he dropped 5 films in 4 years which are some of the most acclaimed films this side of the century. He just happens to want to make his procedural crime-thriller involving the suburban family nightmare before adventuring into to science fiction and I love him for that. Right away you feel this sense of something being amiss in the fictional Pennsylvania town from the layout of things, to the appearance of traditional family’s in a mundane routine or even the uncompromising grayscale background that only grows with time you as the viewer can sense everyone is heading into something different. I’m sure Denis had his idea of what this would look like but then having someone like Deakins to carry that out really is the ace in the hole, this thing is so well captured it makes the most ordinary slice of suburban existence feel like a nightmare. That area of the east coast is notorious for its inclined terrain and the way that aspect is subtly worked into to scenes making you feeling surrounded or minuscule is just one of the many things that add real staying power to the story. I think in general the 2.5 hours feels like a few blinks and as someone who’s constantly wanting to get absorbed with characters, setting or details this was exactly the type of stuff I sink into. Jóhann Jóhannsson is in his bag per usual with his first collaboration with Denis and it’s understated to let the acting shine but effective as ever. That ominous mystery which often results in obsession which you know will not end well but you have to continue and here it’s some of the best implementation of that ideology. Of course the title works simply in a multitude of ways since it’s what Loki and Keller hope to acquire during the runtime, it’s what they are also locked within a setting or something within themselves that they’ve now become trapped in. The examination can continue with the small details in certain edits like when Keller knocks over his daughters doll house during a confrontation with his son showing us quickly that this current spiral has no caused irreparable damage to the family he has left but more importantly to the memory of his daughter which is the entire reason he was trying to stay strong to begin with. The acting on display throughout this film has become more talked about in recent years with the 10 year anniversary coming a few months ago but I’ll still say this now, Hugh Jackman not being nominated for Best Supporting Actor is insane I mean this guy looked like he wasn’t sleeping for months. Such a taxing performance to even watch I can’t imagine endure. You could honestly say the same thing about Gyllenhaal who completely makes detective Loki an incredibly dynamic character just through his own nondescript backstory that’s allowed from him diving in. Paul Dano gets thrown around and bullied like nobody in the business currently, he’s also not aged in 25 years but seriously I thought from head to toe this was some class acting. Poor Terrance Howard I don’t even think was acting when it came time for Jackson to let loose, he looked like he was actually fearful for his life. If you’re just scanning from the instant the film starts to find the answer I could maybe see how you’d piece stuff together but even after multiple watches I’m still admiring the set ups of everything and you add this in accompanying the many fake outs which are punctuated by that ending. I’m in disbelief there are people who say this was boring or predictable but again I love this genre, these actors and most importantly this director so this all comes together for me. Denis Villeneuve’s real burst onto the mainstream would could after his intensely dark crime thriller Prisoners which showed to everyone that this was someone who could visualize tremendous stories regardless of subject matter. Those who were familiar with his previous works Polytechnique and Incedies of course already knew this but now incorporating western stars like Hugh Jackman, Jake Gyllenhaal and Viola Davis allowed for him to propel into the top class of filmmakers for the next decade. This is an exceptional film that probably will be 5 stars in due time and to be honest my ranking of Villeneuve’s filmography is so fucked he’s just too good man. Denis Villeneuve Ranked