But I have a feeling the movie "Prisoners" handles the emotions accurately.
Hugh Jackman and Mari Bello play the Dovers, Terrence Howard and Voila Davis play the Birches, and both families come together for a Thanksgiving dinner one evening. They each have a six year old daughter, Anna and Joy, who ask to go back to Anna's house, ironically for a safety whistle that she blows when she's in trouble. When the police (including Jake Gyllenhaal) start the investigation, it instantly leads to the mysterious man in the RV, a man with an IQ of 10 (Paul Dano) who seems innocent on paper, but the worried parents suspect he knows more than he lets on. When this suspect is released due to no evidence, Hugh Jackman in particular is pissed off, and he decides to take matters into his own hands. Translation:
But while Jackman is pressing this young man for information, Gyllenhaal searches for other paths that could be leading him closer to the truth. With time running out for the two little girls, something's gotta give.
This was 2 hours and 26 minutes long. It was the perfect amount of time to portray the progression of emotions from all sides. I was on the edge of my seat, trying desperately to find a missing link that would reveal the true culprit, and yet, the true culprit was one I could never see coming. (NO SPOILERS FOR YOU!)
Of course, no such subject could be properly brought to the screen without the right writers and actors, as well as cinematography. Maria Bello, Viola Davis and Terrence Howard make you forget their names and believe their characters; every tear seems authentic, every outburst feels real. Paul Dano give you tortuously conflicted feelings as the guy who may or may not know something, but who is being treated like he knows something anyway. Jake Gyllenhall's portrayal of the progressively frustrated cop trying to complete the puzzle is just as believable. But for me, the standout performance was Hugh Jackman. His performance as the father who loses his sanity for the sake of finding his daughter is almost frightening. it reminds us that we all have the capability to do near-horrific things when pushed past their limits. The maniacal look in his eyes, the way his voice could rise in a second to a roar, the violence urges he succumbed to in the face of his worst fears being realized. In between his frightening actions, he displays his deep religious faith that wanes over the course of time ("our father who art in heaven," he repeats, to his son, against the wall, and on the floor in tears.)
These actors were armed with realistic dialogue, and a plot that twists and turns in just the right places (not a sensational thriller, but an honest one). Additionally, the symbolism of the constant cold and rainy weather, and given the location of the suburbs, somehow brings to the forefront just how such a situation (kidnapping) could rock a community as small as that. In one scene, the neighbors light candles and set them up outside the Dover's home, leaving stuffed animals and supportive notes with the candles, to lift the spirit as the days grow longer and more uncertain.
I don't have kids. I do't know if I ever will have kids.
But if I were a parent, and my kid was kidnapped...would I have done what these parents did?
I can't answer.
More reviews and discoveries soon, friends!
-CDM
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