Absolutely Brilliant, Prisoners Starring Hugh Jackman and Jake Gyllenhaal Will Send Shivers Down Your Spine and Wow You with Stellar Acting Beginning September 20, 2013! Bravo Warner Brothers Pictures and Alcon Entertainment on Another Winner! Prisoners Earns Whom You Know's Highest Recommendation. Our Coverage Sponsored by Stribling and Associates
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Jingle bells, Batman smells, Robin laid an egg...
Everyone knows that song from elementary school, but you'll never remember it the same way after spending some quality time with Prisoners, which is the best acting we've seen all year. In a digital era where so much is glitter and effects, Prisoners excels at what movies are supposed to concentration on: convincing, quality acting. You're going to see a level of anger and frustration that some of these actors can achieve like you've never seen before-you'll never want to make them mad. This is the same stellar team at Alcon/Warner Brothers Pictures that produced Dolphin Tale, which was the first movie we reviewed for this studio. The script is highly intelligent and well-thought out.
Right from the start you will be absorbed into the total nightmare that begins on a day that is supposed to be a happy holiday: Thanksgiving. Two families in a small working class town are trying to enjoy a rare day off when money is tight. Keller's our kind of guy from the start as he is requesting the Star Spangled Banner as a song to listen to on Thanksgiving. Also his basement is flawlessly in order and we love how he has everything organized. However, disorder ensues as two little girls, Anna and Joy, disappear when they go outside on their own and the unthinkable happens.
Hugh Jackman, who plays Keller Dover, father of missing Anna Dover, says, "It is a classic ticking clock type of suspense thriller that keeps you on the edge of your seat, and really beautifully written, with great twists and turns. But it's also truly heartbreaking in its consideration of what happens to the human spirit, the psyche, the soul, under that kind of strain."
Directed by Denis Villeneuve, Prisoners boasts a capable cast that will leap out of the screen and put ice cubes down the back of your shirt they are so chilling. Some characters embody the word VILE like none before. ODD. CREEPY. People show you who they are if you are willing to open your eyes and see. If someone looks like they've got something to hide, that is often the case. You'll be entranced with mazes and something in a black box that made Peachy shriek in her seat. Why would you go to a department store and buy kids clothes when you don't have kids?
BE READY.
That's the most important thing Keller Dover's Dad told him.
What will you learn at Prisoners? If you didn't know it before, don't touch things that don't belong to you. Things like campers, for example. Don't ever let your kids out of your sight. We always thought kid-leashes were inhumane but a movie like this makes you think twice. Prisoners also shows you what a tough job the police have and should increase your appreciation for them.
"They didn't cry until I left them..." that should not sit well with you and it won't sit well with some of the characters.
"My character has a line which I love, which is 'Pray for the best, prepare for the worst,'" Jackman says. "He has a contingency plan for everything...but not this. When his six-year-old daughter is gone, and he loses faith in the police to find her, he figures he is the one who will save her. He has a primal need to protect his family, and right now that means finding Anna."
Hugh Jackman states: "People don't behave politely under these extremes. People don't behave as though they care what anyone else thinks. Behavior becomes elemental, guttural. Whether they fall down and collapse, or get violent and angry, or disillusioned...whatever it is, it's honest. It's what they need to do at the time just to get through it."
Villeneuve concurs. "Each character in the film is, in one way or another, a prisoner-of circumstances, of his own neuroses, of fear. Each individual has to struggle with his own imprisonment; each one will have to fight their way out."
In terms of behind the scenes work, we were most impressed with the lighting components and think that must have been terrifically difficult to properly achieve, particularly in regards to the essential flashlight scenes. And daylight provides no solace. We can't remember seeing the sun in this movie.
This is incredibly thought-provoking and will have you thinking about each character and the order of the actions and cause and effect in all the scenes for hours and likely days later. Who will believe whom? What characters have shown they should be believed? Piecing together all the relationships and possible relationships provides a great brainteaser throughout.
Give a little whistle will not just be a song by Jiminy Cricket in your head post-Prisoners and this time the whistle's red. That's what a great movie does-it makes you think. You will not notice the length of the film at all: despite its time of about two and a half hours it absolutely flies by and there is no exterraneous material contained. Every component is necessary for the plot and character definition. Jackman and Gyllenhaal are at their absolute best and clearly dominate the cast though Bello and Davis are equally strong in lesser roles. You'll love to hate the antagonists and you'll have Zero Dark Thirty flashbacks if you've seen that too.
The color, or rather lack of it, throughout successfully adds to the complete eerieness of the chilling flick, except for the cheerful pink of the two missing girls. Every outfit, every decoration, and every day was thickly coated and dunked down in muted shades of eeyore leading you down a path of doom and gloom and bringing individual tragedies that many steps deeper. The music had the same effect and the overall feeling that this could be any town, anywhere should unnerve the world even more. You'll leave the theater with a heightened sense of alertness and possibly a new outlook as well. You'll hug what you love even harder.
...the Batmobile has lost its wheel and the Joker got away.
Don't let this movie get away-you WANT to be a prisoner captivated by this film beginning September 20th. Bring your favorite object of affection to squeeze and you'll see you'll squeeze it often!
Prisoners earns Whom You Know's highest recommendation.
You need to see it this weekend on the big screen!
Note to Producer Kira Davis from the Editor: As we are culinary critics as well we'd like to hear from you on your Peach and Blackberry Italian Crostata please!
Note to Editor Joel Cox from the Editor: Lucky you to have worked with Clint Eastwood about as long as we've been alive. We want to work with you on Jersey Boys please!
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From Alcon Entertainment comes “Prisoners,” a Warner Bros. Pictures’ release starring Oscar® nominees Hugh Jackman (“Les Misérables”) and Jake Gyllenhaal (“Brokeback Mountain”), under the direction of Denis Villeneuve, who helmed the Oscar®-nominated foreign language film “Incendies.”
How far would you go to protect your family? Keller Dover (Hugh Jackman) is facing every parent’s worst nightmare. His six-year-old daughter, Anna, is missing, together with her young friend, Joy, and as minutes turn to hours, panic sets in. The only lead is a dilapidated RV that had earlier been parked on their street. Heading the investigation, Detective Loki (Jake Gyllenhaal) arrests its driver, Alex Jones (Paul Dano), but a lack of evidence forces his release.
As the police pursue multiple leads and pressure mounts, knowing his child’s life is at stake the frantic Dover decides he has no choice but to take matters into his own hands. But just how far will this desperate father go to protect his family?
Led by Jackman and Gyllenhaal, the dramatic thriller “Prisoners” features an all-star cast, including Oscar® nominee Viola Davis (“The Help,” “Doubt”), Golden Globe Award nominee Maria Bello (“A History of Violence,” “The Cooler”) and Oscar® nominee Terrence Howard (“Hustle & Flow”), with Academy Award® winner Melissa Leo (“The Fighter”) and Paul Dano.
Denis Villeneuve directs the film from an original screenplay by Aaron Guzikowski (“Contraband”). Academy Award® nominee Broderick Johnson (“The Blind Side”), Kira Davis, Academy Award® nominee Andrew A. Kosove (“The Blind Side”), and Adam Kolbrenner are the producers, with Edward L. McDonnell, John H. Starke, Robyn Meisinger, Mark Wahlberg and Stephen Levinson serving as executive producers.
Villeneuve is supported by a top-flight creative team that includes 10-time Oscar®-
nominated cinematographer Roger A. Deakins (“Skyfall”), Oscar®-nominated production designer Patrice Vermette (“The Young Victoria”), Oscar®-winning editor Joel Cox (“Unforgiven”), editor Gary Roach (“J. Edgar”), and costume designer Renée April (“Rise of the Planet of the Apes”). The music is by Jóhann Jóhannsson.
Alcon Entertainment presents, an 8:38 Productions/Madhouse Entertainment production, “Prisoners.” The film opens September 20, 2013 and will be distributed domestically and in select international territories by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.
This film has been rated R for disturbing violent content including torture, and language throughout.
