"Prisoners" Review

I want to be clear from the beginning. I do not hate Hugh Jackman. Quite the opposite. He is one of my favorite actors and one of the most talented people in the business today. Yet, when he is cast in ensembles, he tends to dominate and absorb the screen time. Studios tend to milk him for his drawing power, and the end result is criminal overshadowing of the other actors in a film. The X-Men film series is a pure example. A masterful film series (The Last Stand not withstanding), yet the studio's decision to over market Jackman's Wolverine robbed us the brilliance of James Marsden as Cyclops.

Fortunately, Prisoners does not make this mistake. To be sure, Jackman is a large presence and receives top billing, but he never feels like the center of attention.

Prisoners tells the story of two families whose daughters are abducted on Thanksgiving. The narrative follows the lead investigator's (Jake Gyllenhaal) attempts to solve the increasingly complex mystery, however this is not enough for Jackman's character who proceeds to kidnap the prime suspect and torture him.

The trailers do not do the film justice, as it is painted as your run of the mill torture porn for a pre-halloween scare. It could not be further from this. It is a masterfully crafted piece that tiptoes along the lines of horror and drama. The tale starts off as your happy family cliche from every horror movie. Yet once Gyllenhaal enters, it becomes much more than that. It becomes a psychological and a legal thriller that keeps you on the edge of your seat. It is complex, original, and it skews the traditional thriller tropes by giving the characters their own quirks and flaws despite being the "victims."

Hugh Jackman is brilliant of course. His pain and suffering are apparent, yet you can see that the character is so much more than that below the surface, and has his hidden demons.

Jake Gyllenhaal is also magnificent. He embodies the traditional detective, yet does not fall victim to the common horror-cop who does not believe the story. He is flawed and determined. He has a presence that can go toe-to-toe with Jackman. When Hugh tries to dominate, Jake serves it right back.

Yet for this movie, Andrew's Standout is our local thespian, Melissa Leo. Her screen time is brief, but pivotal and full of energy. In the beginning, she seems like any other character. Innocent, hoping the girls show up again. Yet, there is much more to her than that.

My only complaint with the film is that it is rather lengthy unnecessarily. There are some scenes where you connect the dots 2 minutes before thee characters, and it just feels drawn out.

All in all, see this movie. It's a thrilling mystery full of powerful performances and a well crafted script.

A-