Prisoners

[jenkins]

i still think villeneuve is a special director. he's really good at making everything seem real and seamless, but still magically cinematic. polytechnique is still his best by far (of what i've seen), but i think he could top it someday soon. at least he's dynamic. incendies was the opposite of prisoners in terms of its problems/pace.

i'd like to ask an awkward q: i like what you said about villeneuve and that's true, so i'd say your observation was friendly, but longstoryshort incendies for me is the worst kind of movie, because of how it forces its humanism, which i don't see as a humanist choice, so anyway do you recommend i see prisoners, given that context?

[picolas]

i'm not sure how to answer that.. it's been a couple years since i saw incendies and i was too bored by it to notice much beyond the surface. prisoners has a lot of religious stuff happening on both sides.. it def has ideas beyond the twisty turny plot, but at the end of the day that's not really where its value lies, for me at least. i would say polytechnique is the balance between the two. a poetic but thrilling look into violent behaviour and how the victims transform their experiences into regret/resolve.

[jenkins]

thanks. i like what you said. i'll try to find polytechnique, then see prisoners and/or enemy, then think about how i feel about villeneuve

[Alexandro]

This, like The Departed as another example, is what commercial thrillers should be.
Smart, edgy, high stakes stuff with great acting, writing and top notch technical chops
Got on my nerves, enjoyed the ride, loved the performances. Agree with the idea of Tom Hanks in this instead of Jackman but hey...he was ok too, and Hanks is awesome in Captain Phillips. Let's just enjoy this for what it is.
visually, is a stunner. every single shot is beautiful. just give deakins that damn oscar already. it's embarrassing he doesn't have one.

[Mel]

visually, is a stunner. every single shot is beautiful. just give deakins that damn oscar already. it's embarrassing he doesn't have one.

I was wondering what he is doing as Delbonnel did "Inside Llewyn Davis", but never investigated. This is enough of recommendation to pick Prisoners for me.

[samsong]

he was shooting skyfall.

[Mel]

There more I think about "Prisoners", the more I dislike it. I wanted to write that is was entertaining, but when scrapping together some kind of review, one bad thing after another started to reveal itself. On the script level, those are one of the worst characters I have seen this year. They are cartoonist and/or boxed from the start:

SPOILERS ON!

- Captain - stereotypical F-you type boss.
- Hysterical wife - at least hysteria is treated according to 19 century standards: with opiates.
- Pedophile priest - why only one?
- Creep of the year... next doors.

You can define main character from top to bottom, just by looking at his basement. That can work for some films, but when you try mix moral choices with such characters, it falls apart. I just didn't care about anyone, beside Detective Loki.

When I look back at "Prisoners", I see mostly plot devices. How to scare audience:

- Make it about kids: this will freak people out.
- Possibility of pedophilia isn't enough, lets tune it up with mysterious masterminds.
- It is doing of old people (they scare young people).

This pretty much covers audience from every demographic.

Red herring are disguised, still most of the story is driven by them (Father and Bob don't add much of value, beside misleading).

SPOILERS OFF!

"Prisoners" is probably biggest disappointments for me in this year: ingredients and craft are there, but you can't undo shortcomings of the story. Secondly I was spoiled by some great TV series, which executed mystery crime much better than "Prisoners". I recommend to see "Broadchurch" instead: suffering of the family, banality of evil, revenge, truth that doesn't bring happiness, just more suffering is all there, which I feel was missing from the "Prisoners".

[©brad]

I agree with Mel and Picolas especially with the casting. It's certainly watchable and never boring, but no movie this long should have characters this underwritten.

[Mel]

Highlights: tics and tattoos, improvisations in front of Deakins, how Gyllenhaal was cast, desperation of character, Loki and snakes.