Riveted by revenge

It touches all the sensitive areas when two children disappear one afternoon and every parent's worst nightmare is suddenly realised. The police seem helpless as they follow various clues, but as the days pass nothing seems to be happening.

Keller Dover, played with fierce energy by Hugh Jackman, is beginning to panic. His six-year-old daughter, Anna, is missing, together with her young friend, Joy. The only lead is a dilapidated RV that had earlier been parked on their street. Heading the investigation, Detective Loki (Gyllenhaal) arrests its driver, Alex Jones (Paul Dano), but a lack of evidence forces his release.

As the police pursue multiple leads and pressure mounts, a frantic Dover, knowing his child’;s life is at stake, decides he has no choice but to take matters into his own hands. He is prepared to go the full distance to find his daughter.

When it comes to thrillers, this is about as good as it gets, with director Denis Villeneuve, in his first English film, creating a moody masterpiece with icy scenes of snow and incessant rain as a small American town, wracked by a recession, fear and the elements, tries to come to terms with a tense situation.

While the film is rooted in decades of Hollywood revenge scenarios, it manages to carve new ground as it slowly builds tension, producing a complex moral centre.

There is no sugar-coating the events that unfold and as new revelations are revealed one can only gasp in awe at the skills of the filmmakers. Aaron Gruzikowski’s script is smart and it examines issues of guilt, innocence, and desperation. And all the loose ends are neatly tied up.

Prisoners requires and rewards your attention.