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Prisoners (Movie Review)

Prisoners is a 2013 thriller directed by Denis Villeneuve and starring Hugh Jackman, Jake Gyllenhall, Paul Dano, Maria, Bello, and Terrence Howard. The plot of the movie is a parent's worst nightmare and starts with disappearance of two young girls on Thanksgiving day.



The movie starts out by introducing us to Keller (Hugh Jackman) and Grace Dover (Maria Bello) and their two children― Ralph (Dylan Minnette) and Anna (Erin Gerasimovich). The Pennsylvania based family seems to be your average happy family with a few odd twists. Keller is a struggling contractor just trying to make ends meet and is also a die-hard survivalist trying to teach his son some valuable life lessons. The family is preparing to head over to the Birch's house which are their friends and neighbors to have Thanksgiving dinner. The family makes the short walk to the house and we are then introduced to Franklin (Terrence Howard), Nancy Birch (Viola Davis), Joy (Kyla Drew Simmons) and Eliza Birch (Zoe Borde). It seems to be just another average day with two families enjoying the holiday with good food and conversation. However, things soon turn dark, as two families embark on the most difficult and scariest journey of their lives.

When the older siblings are out walking with the two younger girls they notice a strange RV parked on their road that the girls try to play on. They think someone is inside and the teens gather the girls and head back to the house. Later on, the adults are having a few glasses of wine while the older siblings watch a movie. The two little girls leave the house to head over to the Dover's home to look for Anna's red whistle that she had lost previously and don't tell anyone in the household. When the families realizes Anna and Joy are missing they head out on a frantic search for them and the teens suddenly recall the strange RV. The parents call the police and give a description of the RV that was seen and it is later found on the side of the road by Detective Loki (Jake Gyllenhaal) with the suspect Alex Jones (Paul Dano) still inside.

Alex tries to run which results in a wreck, and he is soon taken into custody. However, the police soon realize that Alex only has the comprehension skills of a 10 year old, and they must release him to his Aunt Holly Jones (Melissa Leo) after 48 hours. Keller is certain that Alex knows where his baby girl is and is willing to go to any means necessary to find her. With the police and Detective Loki making little progress in the case, Keller decides to kidnap Alex and torture him until he tells them where the children are. From this point on the movie takes some dark and twisted turns until the story reaches its surprisingly dramatic ending.

Prisoners is a well-written story that is brought to life through great acting from an all-star cast. The story manages to create enough suspense and action to keep you interested to the very end. However, the ending may be a little bitter-sweet since it leaves you wondering what happened next. After investing your time in a movie, most want an ending that ties everything together, not one that cuts off and leaves it up to the imagination of the viewer. I was frankly disappointed with how the movie left off and wanted a little more. But in the end, Prisoners is a great movie that touches the soul and will leave you speechless even after the credits roll.

Score: 8 out of 10

Movie Information
Writer/Director: Denis Villeneuve
Release Date: September 20, 2013
Genre: Thriller
Starring: Hugh Jackman, Jake Gyllenhall, Paul Dano, Maria, Bello, and Terrence Howard

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