Movie Review: Prisoners

Ratings: 4/5

As if watching The Conjuring and having my brains blown out of proportion was not enough, I had to go ahead and watch Prisoners just to make sure that the psychological damage was if not permanent, at least long lasting. This is one movie that you cannot just wipe out of your psyche with a couple of Tequila shots, oh no, Prisoners is here to haunt you long after you have left the movie theatre.

With Hugh Jackman in the lead playing Keller Dover, Prisoners has a simple and straightforward storyline- after a friendly and hearty Thanksgiving dinner at their neighbours the Birches’ home, the youngest daughters Anna Dover and Joy Birch are missing. The movie revolves around police investigation that goes into finding the little girls, and what the families go through in the meanwhile. Detective Loki, played by Jake Gyllenhaal, is the lead investigator on the case, and is an intense and strong character that befits a detective who has never had an unsolved case in his career. 

The most compelling aspect of Prisoners is that the movie is fraught with emotions and despite it being much longer than most suspense-thrillers, there is not a moment in the movie that feels stretched, boring or unnecessary. Jake Gyllenhaal has given everything and then some to the role of Detective Loki; and hardly anyone will bat their eyes when he bags a number of awards for his efforts.

What is so spine-chilling about Prisoners is the fact that humans can do such inhumane and barbaric things to fellow human beings, and somehow manage to justify it. Prisoners is testimony to the fact that the most humble and God-fearing people can turn into complete monsters when it comes to saving the ones they love, and that true evil lurks not in the depths of a forest, or in myths and legends, but amongst us, in the form of plain and innocent-looking human beings.