"Prisoners" is rich in compelling narratives and stellar performances from the ensemble cast. This movie had me love and hate Hugh Jackman's character which was so complex to the point of making me question my moral standards because I found myself empathizing with his character. On the other hand, Jake Gyllenhaal did a marvelous job on playing the frustrated cop: complete with all the intensity of his eyes and his intuition. While Gyllenhaal had more screentime as the lead, Jackman's performance really stood out for me.

This film doesn't use jumpscares (often precluded by suspenseful music to build-up the tension and are often abused in this genre) in order to thrill the audience, but rather, moments of silence and stillness. Its calm and cold vibe stirs up the kind of anxiety it wants its audience to feel, and naturally, the audience would want to get rid of that uneasiness by knowing what's going on, thus, cleverly forcing them to watch the entire film which runs about 2 hrs and 33 mins.

The director, Denis Villeneuve, incorporates his "less is more" style of using soundtracks in this movie (just like what he did with Blade Runner 2049) to emphasize the scenes, especially with the ending (heavens know how much I liked that ending). It's not rocket suspense but the simplicity of it makes your mind wander to other possibilities which I think is often a good indication of a brilliant film since it's open for other interpetations.

However, one thing that won't make me rate this a perfect 9 or 8 is the fact that I'm not entirely convinced on the motivation of the antagonists for doing the things they did. It felt a bit rushed (for the lack of a better word) and while it makes sense, it doesn't leave me satisfied

I didn't realize until I came to some of the reviews for this movie that it was two and a half hours long. It didn't seem like that while watching as one gets so engrossed in the story that time manages to fly by pretty quickly.

I thought the plotting for the film was nearly flawless. The one thing I found exception to was when Detective Loki (Jake Gylenhaal) got distracted by the phone call from the department store clerk, he left Keller Dover (Hugh Jackman) in the abandoned house and never bothered to return in a timely fashion. He had pretty good instincts about something going on there, so a quicker follow up would have been expected.

Otherwise, I thought the screenplay and director Denis Villeneuve crafted an intricately weaved mystery surrounding the missing girls, with an abduction history going back a quarter of a decade. Those who find Keller's kidnapping of Alex Jones (Paul Dano) distasteful and his subsequent beating of Alex brutal, I'd have to agree that it was beyond the pale for a movie treatment. The beating part anyway. You could understand the man's frustration, but having no success in getting any information, he should have backed off long before he did.

But even that part of it was handled well. Loki conceded to Grace Dover (Maria Bello) that her husband would probably go to jail, so there was no getting around the idea that Keller would get away with what he did. For his part, Gyllenhaal displayed another nuanced character in Detective Loki, just about a hundred eighty degree turn from his depiction of news gatherer Lou Bloom in "Nightcrawler". There were times he showed remarkable restraint dealing with Keller, making me think about the way cops in real life situations have to hold back on their emotions when dealing with distraught victims of a crime. He and the rest of the supporting cast put in very credible performances.

Two very good actors ply their trade very well. Jake Gyllanhaal plays a policeman who is utterly driven in his quest to find two kidnapped little girls. Hugh Jackman plays a survivalist who "prays for the best but expects the worst." During Thanksgiving dinner, two little girls go up to a rusty old RV and shortly thereafter, disappear. The prime suspect is a mentally handicapped young man, the driver of the RV. But the girls are nowhere to be found. He is held for 48 hours and then released. It is then that Jackman takes matters into his own hands. He kidnaps the young man and, convinced he knows everything, tortures him and beats him for days. Meanwhile, another suspect arises but Jackman can't handle this and keeps pounding away. There are numerous twists and turns that seem to work well. Gyllanhaal is a troubled guy himself who has some anger issues that he keeps under wraps. I had not heard of this film and it was a treat to view it.