Fully deserving of mention in the same breath—or gasp—as Seven, Mystic River, and Zodiac,
Prisoners' fragmented central mystery
burns with white-hot intensity. Director Denis Villeneuve and writer Aaron
Guzikowski weave a dense narrative web of seemingly disparate plot strands
interwoven around a complex moral core; the movie is concerned with the psychological,
emotional and social consequences of violence as much as solving the crime.
The wages of sin, guilt, vengeance and redemption weigh heavily on the
characters of Prisoners. With
remarkable visual elegance and economy, the gifted Quebecois director
flawlessly captures the moods and mores of small-town, God-fearing America. “Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will
be done, on earth as it is in Heaven.” These words open Villeneuve’s film,
spoken over a wintry forest landscape, frozen in the icy late-autumn chill. The
slow, creeping camera pulls back to reveal the barrel of a shotgun, pointed
head on at a lonely deer. This is only the first of many images of predators
pursuing their prey.
