Forget Se7en: Jake Gyllenhaal’s Apple TV Thriller May Be Even Better
A disappearance in Connecticut
On a chilly Thanksgiving, Keller Dover’s young daughter and a neighbor’s child vanish. Jake Gyllenhaal plays Detective Loki, who investigates as Dover, played by Hugh Jackman, begins pursuing his own leads.
The story came from a 2009 script by Aaron Guzikowski, based on his short story and included on that year’s Black List. After reportedly being considered by Leonardo DiCaprio and Antoine Fuqua, the project went to Denis Villeneuve, following his films Polytechnique and Incendies.
A film steeped in menace
Villeneuve and cinematographer Roger Deakins give the suburban setting a cold, threatening mood. The opening disappearance unfolds amid grey, ordinary surroundings, while abandoned buildings, streetlights and parking lots take on an ominous cast.
The film runs more than two and a half hours and grows darker as Dover suspects Alex, a young man with an intellectual disability played by Paul Dano. Torture, amateur investigations, false leads and an apparent occult conspiracy shape the latter half.
Performances and lasting appeal
Jackman’s portrayal of an anguished father is intensely physical. In the torture scene, he reportedly improvised several swings of a hammer; one came so close to Dano that it frightened him and made him cower.
Prisoners shares a bleak atmosphere with Se7en and is compared with thrillers such as Zodiac and The Silence of the Lambs. Though its kidnapping plot is familiar, its craft has helped the film remain compelling, and audiences are now flocking to it on Apple TV.
Key points
- Prisoners is climbing the Apple TV charts more than a decade after its 2013 release.
- Jake Gyllenhaal plays Detective Loki, investigating the disappearance of two children.
- Denis Villeneuve and Roger Deakins shape the film’s bleak, menacing atmosphere.
- Hugh Jackman and Paul Dano anchor the film’s most intense scenes.