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My rating is more of a 4.5
Thanks for reading!
𝑾𝒆 𝒉𝒖𝒓𝒕 𝒉𝒊𝒎 𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒍 𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒂𝒍𝒌𝒔 𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚'𝒓𝒆 𝒈𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒅𝒊𝒆.
Prisoners is a 2013 American thriller film directed by Denis Villeneuve from a screenplay written by Aaron Guzikowski. The film has an ensemble cast including Hugh Jackman, Jake Gyllenhaal, Viola Davis, Maria Bello, Terrence Howard, Melissa Leo, and Paul Dano. It is Villeneuve's first English-language feature film.
The plot focuses on the abduction of two young girls in Pennsylvania and the subsequent search for the suspected abductor by the police. After police (Notably: Loki) arrest a young suspect (Alex) and release him, the father (Keller) of one of the daughters takes matters into his own hands.
It’s only fair I guess that I start with disclosures:
For reasons that I will elaborate on further, as part of my research here I did something I’m not usually compelled to do:
I read the screenplay for 𝑷𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒓𝒔. All 137 pages of it.
In addition to this, I watched an interview done by Guzikowski that was designed to loosely document what adapting his writing into a full-length film took from a procedural standpoint.
So: I’m going in to this review with a basic understanding of how the roots of 𝑷𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒓𝒔 compares to the fruit it bears and the criticism it cultivates.
Up first for the dredging: My finest compliments to the chef (AKA: Roger Deakins, the cinematographer).
The earliest of many occasions where Deakins and Villeneuve would join forces, the darkness of 𝑷𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒓𝒔’s subject matter is emphasized through an aesthetic that favors harsh lighting and the decision to shoot use a lens that is most suitable for the most dim of conditions. Almost all of the scenes occurring outside were shot on days where the sun was actively hiding - with rain and snow almost being active participants - with items such as headlights, flashlights, and candles sometimes being the only source of light on set. Consequently, audience members are often forced to perceive and make their own observations amongst motion and a collection of interactions that are both highlighted and concealed by literal shadows in tandem: and what better way to follow a cohort of characters that seem perpetually in possession of something (Or even someone) to hide?
Speaking of which - on paper Loki remains vaguely contained: He’s a cop (so, he has some sense of duty as it involves justice), he’s mostly a loner, and he’s forced to contend with an abounding anti-hero as a point of reference throughout.
(P.S. Shout out to High Jackman for absolutely nailing the personification of familial rage)
Interestingly enough, what aren’t found in Guzikowski’s screenplay are qualities that make Loki distinguishable; courtesy of Gyllenhall (As these specific ideas were all his), Loki is affixed with a number of attributes (tattoos, and a perfectly executed eye twitch) meant to suggest that his character has a past of his own that is potentially dubious and some underlying solace of melancholy that could break out at any given moment.
(P.S. Whoever decided on the slicked back undercoat for the hair style Gyllenhall sports here….please just….keep making choices. You're obviously good at that)
What 𝑷𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒓𝒔 excels most as is an ongoing example of the power of precedence; moreover, complications that lend to nuance are successfully conjured using situations or qualities that are willingly receive through a biased viewpoint as opposed to a needlessly convoluted or narrow-minded one.
Conflict revolving around impunity and complicity are snuck in like sweets that audience members may find themselves chewing on: further championing individual causes while maintaining a divisive (but authentic) atmosphere throughout.
What this all contributes to is quite simple, really, as it makes some leeway for empathy that would otherwise be stubbornly withheld. We see this in how openly Keller’s actions (as a parent searching desperately for their endangered child) are both accepted and rebuked. We see this in deaths and significant events that force Loki (As someone with a penchant for perfectionism) headfirst into situations that allow little margin for error. We - although to a dimensioned extent, mind you - also see this in how easily the prime villain could be understood if given the chance after their grand reveal: fixated on some spiritually endowed retribution following their own experience with the bitter taste of bereavement, themselves.
More of a footnote than a full blown complaint: I can’t help but feel the commitment to possibly fractured characters isn’t as equally applied to Alex.
Almost predictably, Alex is written as both predacious and innocuous, as misdirection is one of 𝑷𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒓𝒔’s primary ingredients, and much of Alex’s presence is defined by an inability to disclose meaningful information; it’s what makes him vastly separable from other suspects in the larger context of 𝑷𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒓𝒔 (as the pressure to even interrogate him is dissipated by a larger majority of the characters well towards the end of the first act), and makes the moments where he utters mere syllables all the more important.
And I can’t help but think more deeply about how Guzikowski thought best to achieve this when thought of in conjunction with the cruelty he is subsequently exposed to; quips are sprinkled throughout as commentary involving his handicap (“He has the intelligence of a 10 year”) and viewers are left with no genuine reason to believe that he is even remarkably shady (this is relevant in light of my previous point as some people may find themselves feeling sorry for Alex 𝒃𝒆𝒄𝒂𝒖𝒔𝒆 of his disability as opposed to because of his immediate actions) amongst a collage of “truth bombs” and some level of intricate comprehension that he clearly 𝒊𝒔 capable of conveying when given a fair chance.
And, again: Not as big of a complaint as it sounds, I promise. What I mean to emphasize here is a lack of 𝒃𝒂𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 to Alex that is worth challenging and could perhaps be more thoughtfully delivered through characteristics that could be more believably manipulated (Like, just throwing it out there as a suggestion, the amount of doubt that characters could have as it how Alex 𝒓𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒎𝒃𝒆𝒓𝒔 things) that don’t seem static or presumably inherent.
(P.S. This is where I remind my audience that I subscribe wholeheartedly to #PaulDano supremacy. No, I will not speak more on that. In all seriousness, though , would love to have a discussion about this specifically in the comment section if Amazon even had one)
If obscurity is a filter that dilutes the truth than 𝑷𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒓𝒔 is as sleek as it is slippery: thriving as an assemblage of selectively loose ends and forced coherency amongst the rubble. Ambiguous and perplexing (For some, frustratingly so) while structurally robust, its baffling brilliance resembles that of a musician who has been forced to hone their craft using an instrument of their choosing that has been saturated beyond the point of recognition.
There’s an intermittence of noise that could be described as unintelligible, but there’s no denying the facts:
It manages, for the most part, to hit all of the right notes.
P.S. I haven’t seen a single review of this film using the word A-MAZE-ING as a pun to describe it, so HERE IT IS.
Thanks for reading, as usual.
Hope you all are having a great day!
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Only Blu Ray - no dvd
The title is misleading. This only includes a blu ray. No dvd is included FYI
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