Prisoners: Imperfect, But Engrossing

If you've read my article on "Sicario," then you can probably tell that I enjoy talking about Denis Villeneuve's filmography. But, believe it or not, at this time, a year ago, I had never even heard of "Prisoners." But I got the bored bug, and so I went looking for a film to watch. And one title that kept popping up in film recommendation lists people would post online was this film called "Prisoners," and just like that, my interest was piqued. When I found out it was on Netflix, I decided to give it a watch. My thoughts? "Prisoners" was actually pretty good. It's got some excellent visuals, smart and effective symbolism, a story that hits close to home, and some smart twists and turns throughout. Of course, the film also comes with its flaws, namely some heavy-handed messaging and acting that can sometimes veer into the melodramatic, but overall, Prisoners is a movie I'll happily give a thumbs-up to, flaws and all.

"Prisoners" follows a man named Keller Dover in the days following the disappearance of his daughter. It soon comes to light that foul play is afoot, and that a kidnapper is on the loose. The Dovers hire a detective named Loki to solve the case, but Keller and Loki soon part ways over a bitter disagreeement over how the case should be handled, and this disagreement breeds mistrust which eventually breeds deception. Once a suspect, a man named Alex Jones with an IQ of a ten-year-old, has been apprehended by the police, Keller goes behind the backs of the authorities, and brutally attempts to beat the truth out of Alex himself, under the impression that the police are dragging their feet. In short, this film asks a question: "how far are you willing to go to protect your family?" And to take it further, is your passion for truth counting the cost to obtain it?

"Prisoners" does a number of things very well, and one of the of the best things about the movie is it's atmosphere. This world is dark, oppresssive, and best of all, terrifyingly familiar. The kidnapping sutuation this film centers around isn't some terrorist plot coming to a head over in the middle east or the machinations of a warlord in Eastern Europe. Rather, this is a scarily-plausible conspiracy happening right in our backyard here in the US, in the state of Pennsyvania, to be precise (although the principal photography took place entirely in Georgia). Roger Deakins turns a familiar setting into a dark, rainy, damp, and alien, yet beautiful and immersive world of mystery and conspiracy. In other words, the film is very fun to look at because it's beautiful and yet also familiar, and I couldn't help but be dragged head-over-heels into the illusion that what I was watching was actually real.

Another thing "Prisoners" does well is symbolism and executing the age-old adage of "show, don't tell." Of course, there are some subtle yet impressive visual and narrative cues here and there, such as a reference to the Trinity in Christian faith, where a mysterious priest represents the father, an odd boy represents the son, and a seeming phantom of a man who can escape from any dragnet the police lay for him represents the holy spirit. But the biggest and most impressive example of symbolism in "Prisoners" is the circular maze that repeatedly pops up in the film. Originally obtained by the police as a bizarre piece of evidence, the maze is a representation of a prison that each character is trapped in. Loki is a prisoner to a seemingly unsolvable case. Alex is a prisoner, trapped in his own mind. And Keller is a prisoner to himself and his anger.

The plot of "Prisoners" is relatively taut, and immaculately woven together. If something is in the movie, chances are it's connected to the larger conspiracy this film conveys quite well. The disappearance of Keller's daughter isn't the kidnapper's first rodeo, and the effect they have had on the other characters in the film is profound. Almost every character in the movie has, in some way, been affected by the kidnapper at some point in their life, and as the loose ends of this film begin to tie up, I was incredibly impressed at how every seemingly-random plot point in the movie connected to the main storyline in some way. And while the story does suffer from some pacing issues towards the end of the film as well as an unnecessarily ambiguous ending, the plot of "Prisoners," while lacking in some areas, has a very good attention to detail, and cares about the larger picture that is being painted.

Up until now, I've discussed mostly good things about the movie, but of course, there is some bad that comes with the good. When "Prisoners" is at it's worst, it tends to veer into the melodramatic. I can only watch a bunch of sad people sitting around being sad for so long before it becomes a little bit monotonous, and while the performances in the film are strong, they are unfortunately a little bit one-dimensional until the final act of the film. The film also has a tendency to rely on some cheap red herrings to drag out some scenes, most notably in one scene where a character inexplicably decides to just be quiet and not answer her parents so that the audience thinks that she's disappeared as well. Spoiler alert, I suppose, but this particular scene just irked me a lot, and I had to talk about it. There are some other minor flaws with the film, most notably a tendency to shock the audience with brutal imagery to the point where I had become a little bit numb to the literal torture scenes by the end of the film. These flaws hurt the film, and hold it back from true greatness.

So, all in all, "Prisoners" isn't perfect, but it is ultimately a good movie, albeit not a great one. It's got some excellent twists, a strong cast, good symbolism, and a gloriously immersive atmosphere, but also has an annoying tendency to rely on fake-outs as well as self-important and ultimately wearying melodrama to drive the story forward. It's imperfect, but alas, now that all is said and done, I believe the good aspects of "Prisoners" ultimately outweigh the bad. One last thing: if you're thinking about letting your kids watch this movie, please don't. It's incredibly dark and brutal, and just isn't something kids need to see, especially given that things like this have actually happened in real life. But "Prisoners" is a film I'd encourage you to let older teens watch if they happen to develop an interest in it, as the film will leave no doubt in your mind that it is a cautionary tale, a harsh, blood-stained warning against abandoning human decency in the name of "the greater good."

Prisoners - 7/10

James 1:19-20