Prisoners

A movie about what lines a parent is willing to cross for their child and the savagery people resort to when they’re in an emergency situation. Two girls go missing, the fathers torture the presumed suspect who is singing their jingle the girls had sang a few hours before disappearing. Turns out it was his abductor/mother who was the villain all along. The entire movie is unsettling and you can really feel time slipping away as you watch. Hugh Jackson’s desperation is palpable through the screen. The whistle at the end leaves a bit to be desired, but it’s probably for the best since Keller is in for quite the jail sentence. Honestly surprised that this movie doesn’t make more critically acclaimed lists. We are all prisoners to our own fears or justifying the lengths we go to in certain scenarios. This movie is nothing but heavy, raw stress. The blinking is an artistic choice to convey stress by Jake Gyllenhaal.  Here’s a Reddit analysis I like, “From beginning to end, it is not the plot that drives me to pay attention, rather the extremely accurate and relatable portrayal of stress experienced by Detective Loki (Jake Gyllenhaal) and the father of the missing child, Keller Dover (Hugh Jackman). How these two adult men deal with stress in such contrasting ways is already interesting enough, but how Dennis Villeneuve was able to really make you empathize with the pain and bleakness felt during this time by both the family and the detective made the movie so memorable.” Quotes: “Pray for the best, but prepare for the worst.”