Film Review: Prisoners (2013)

Two families get together for Thanksgiving, and lose two little girls. Anna and Joy disappear when they run down the street to Anna’s house…but they never come back. Anna’s brother remembers a suspicious-looking camper parked down the street that has since vanished. They find the camper within hours, and the young man inside is taken into custody. No sign of the girls, but it had to be him right? He tried to run when the cops approached him, he told Anna’s father (Hugh Jackman) “They only cried when I left them,” but the cops can’t get anything out of him. That’s when Anna’s father takes matters into his own hands…

The movie is full of twists and red herrings, and Hugh Jackman plays a very convincing scary-hunter type with nothing to lose.  Jake Gyllenhaal is the real surprise here, with a great portrayal of a cocky detective that’s never left a case unsolved, and HARDLY EVER CALLS FOR BACKUP! I kept yelling at the screen, “why don’t you have a partner! I bet Mariska Hargitay would come in pretty handy right now!” But to no avail. Paul Dano plays a damaged young man that has the IQ of a ten year old, and he does it well. This is a good thriller that keeps you yelling multiple theories at other people in the room (to their possible annoyance).