Spoilers for Prisoners ahead…
Plot Synopsis
Prisoners (2013) starts off with the random abduction of two young girls in a rural Pennsylvanian town. The lead detective Loki (played by Jake Gyllenhaal), quickly narrows in on an intellectually disabled young man who lives with his aunt, due to his RV being parked outside the girls’ home. However, no physical evidence can be found linking him to the crimes, and he’s released.
Keller (Hugh Jackman), the father of one of the young girls, is convinced he’s guilty and takes investigations into his own hands, kidnapping and violently interrogating–or torturing–the young man for the majority of the movie.
Thus unfolds two concurrent plot lines; one following Detective Loki’s investigation into child sex offenders, serial abductions, and mazes, the other focusing on Keller’s descent into unspeakable acts of vigilante justice. The movie ends with a slight cliffhanger and a plot twist that makes you want to play the film back again.
Acting: 5 out of 5
The acting performances made this film for me. Easily, the stand out goes to Jake Gyllenhaal, who played former boys’ home reject turned hard headed detective Loki. Somehow, despite having an overdone and entirely unremarkable character, Gyllenhaal steals the show in every scene he’s in. He made the creative decision to give his character an eye tic, compiled here, which elevates his performance.
Plot Intrigue: 4 out of 5
Most of the plot was nail-biting, head scratching, and pulse pounding intrigue, for obvious reasons. Prisoners crafted a weaving tale that was equal parts who-dunnit, psychological intrigue, and fast paced action.
Unfortunately, some of the torture scenes bordered on exploitive, gory just for shock value. Additionally, the script writers elected to create unbelievably heavy handed religious references, which took up valuable screen time in an already long movie. The religious undertones are also used as a lazy way to wrap up the plot. It’s explained, rather abruptly, that the reason the kidnappers have been serially abducting children for decades was to punish people who believe in God? An intriguing motivation certainly, but in desperate need of fleshing out, especially whenever there were no other signs suggesting a religious component to the crimes.
Ending: 3 out of 5
The plot wraps up with a reveal of the true kidnapper: the little old lady, aunt of the intellectually disabled man who was tortured by Keller. The young girls are found and saved by Detective Loki in the nick of time, but not before Keller is forced into a hidden, underground pit by the kidnapper. The movie ends with a drawn out scene of Detective Loki hearing a whistle that Keller is blowing from underground. Overall, the ending was strong, but weakened by the final shot. It’s obvious that Loki will find Keller and save him, so the attempted cliffhanger lands pretty flat.
Director Decisions: 5 out of 5
I have no clue what I’m evaluating in this category, but I loved what I saw. The cinematographic choices enhanced the movie significantly, and my stand out scene fittingly goes to the climax of the movie, when Detective Loki races to get one of the girls to the hospital, all while battling a serious wound to the head. Watch the clip here.
Characters: 2 out of 5
The main character, Keller, serves as almost a caricature of a rural, Christian man, who has a doomsday shelter and is frequently shown praying. This ultimately soured my view of his character, as the complexity was sacrificed in the name of an unclear intent. . The film attempted to paint Keller’s descent into evil as a conflict between his faith and his love for his daughter, but we never see him physically waver in his actions once. As viewers, we never get to see him really grappling with his faith, beyond the praying scenes.
Additionally, many of the characters feel partially colored in, leaving significant gaps in comprehension, most notably Bob Taylor, who serves as an Act 2 red herring. He is arrested after police find chests filled with snakes, pig’s blood, and articles of the missing girls’ clothes. We later find out he had broken into their homes and stolen them. The explanation provided is a sloppy one, created through a stereotypical “eureka!” scene from the detectives, but doesn’t follow a lot of logical sense. It’s challenging to believe Bob Taylor as a genuine human, taking me out of the movie.