Prisoners (2013)

At one time, I would have refused to see this. It seemed to me that revenge flicks were largely just an excuse to have a "hero" behaving more nastily than usual. But I have discovered my taste for them, whether we're supposed to root for the protagonist or recognize that he's in the wrong. In this case, I knew it was bigger on drama than action.

Keller Dover (Hugh Jackman) and Frank Birch (Terrence Howard) are friends through their first-grade daughters -- who go missing at the same time. Laconic, low-IQ Alex Jones (Paul Dano) is soon apprehended as a suspected kidnapper, but the evidence is too circumstantial to hold him for long; and despite the request of Detective Loki (Jake Gyllenhaal), the chief lets him go totally free. Having slightly more evidence to convince him, however inadmissible in court, Keller kidnaps Alex and enlists Frank's reluctant help in trying to torture their daughters' whereabouts out of him, keeping this secret from their respective wives, Grace (Maria Bello) and Nancy (Viola Davis). Meanwhile, Loki continues to look for the girls and Alex -- sometimes following Keller.

I wouldn't have guessed that this movie escaped an NC-17 rating by a few frames. Alex has a hard time of it, but we don't see a whole lot of violence. Nor is there a whole lot of insinuation of child molestation.

There is a certain value to stories that continually get you wondering how much to sympathize with each character. Alex is clearly guilty of something, but can we justify bloodying his face until he spits out a satisfying answer? Keller comes to appear maybe half as decent as in his first few scenes, never allowing doubt to creep in. Most of the others are easy enough to evaluate.

Adding to the drama, Grace really doesn't handle her heartbreak well. Her teen son Ralph has to take care of her in Keller's now-frequent absence. Ralph probably feels a little guilty, since he had noted the girls' interest in Alex's van but said nothing until after their disappearance. Frank's teen daughter Eliza resents Frank's absence as well.

You might prefer to focus on the mystery aspect, which is creepier and more involved than I expected. Every detail is relevant if not helpful. Some things I figured out faster than Loki, but I didn't put all the pieces together before the revelation to the audience.

Without giving too much away, let me say that I don't care for the main villain's motivation: a "war against God." It turns an otherwise mostly credible fiction (apart from some of the names) into more of a thought experiment. I am barely aware of real-life misotheists, and they normally prefer to rant rather than use force to corrupt strangers. Guess the writers felt a need to reassure us that Keller still wasn't nearly as bad as his archenemy.

In the end, I respect the film more than I recommend it. I might have guessed as much from Denis Villeneuve, director of Incendies and Sicario. If your decision of whether to watch depends on the happiness of the ending, I'll spoil a little of it for you:



Both girls get out alive, tho I wouldn't be surprised if they had acquired lasting mental disorders. Keller probably goes to prison, with Loki's testimony to lighten the sentence. The body count is three, and I don't feel too sorry for them.