Prisoners

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Prisoners

R

2013

2h 33m

Mystery & Thriller

Crime

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

81%

Tomatometer

249 Reviews

87%

Popcornmeter

100,000+ Ratings

Keller Dover (Hugh Jackman) faces a parent's worst nightmare when his 6-year-old daughter, Anna, and her friend go missing. The only lead is an old motorhome that had been parked on their street. The head of the investigation, Detective Loki (Jake Gyllenhaal), arrests the driver (Paul Dano), but a lack of evidence forces Loki to release his only suspect. Dover, knowing that his daughter's life is at stake, decides that he has no choice but to take matters into his own hands.

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Critics Consensus

Prisoners has an emotional complexity and a sense of dread that makes for absorbing (and disturbing) viewing.

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Kate Stables

Sight & Sound

07/31/2018

Guzikowski's well-honed thriller occasionally idles under Villeneuve's dark character studies, but the director's powerfully imposed mood of dread elevates what might otherwise have been just a superior police procedural.

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Jason Bailey

Flavorwire

06/19/2016

An increasingly sloppy thriller, filled with obvious clues, laughable red herrings, and halfhearted "shock" reveals, played at a snail's pace that lets far too much air into the narrative.

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Chris Stuckmann

ChrisStuckmann.com

04/17/2015

A+

This film haunted me for days and weeks after seeing it, and the feeling still lingers.

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Miles Surrey

The Ringer

09/29/2023

The tense thriller that put its director on the map...

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Iván Kazi

EscribiendoCine

12/07/2022

8/10

While the resolution is close to being predictable... the movie's strong suit is something else. The process, the content, and the journey are profoundly immersive. [Full review in Spanish]

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Keith Garlington

Keith & the Movies

08/24/2022

4/5

“Prisoners” offers some slick foreboding, crafty twists, and a satisfying ending.

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AJ E

@theMoreEl 6d

Entertaining front to back without a lacking scene for me. My only sorrow is I cannot go back and watch it for the first time again.

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Mitchell C

Nov 29

A slow burning powder keg of mystery and emotion that winds up the audience and never lets it go.

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DAVID W

Nov 17

It's long, bleak and relentless. There are some good performances and gritty cinematography, and you are carried along for a time - it just about manages to make you suspend your disbelief until the end, but, perhaps, only just. It doesn't hold up to scrutiny on reflection. You won't want to watch it again, unless to pick holes in the plot, because it depends on the dénouement.

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Erik V

Nov 14

Great lead actors. Fantastic all throughout. Really brings out the emotions from inside.

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Tim B.

@SlimTim0707 Nov 9

While the plot is problematic, the atmosphere and performances of Jackman and Gyllenhol make this dark mystery one of the best films of 2013.

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Dillon B.

@DillonBrosnan2 Oct 30

Phenomenal, one of the best thrillers ever made

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Denis Villeneuve

Director

Hugh Jackman

Keller Dover

Jake Gyllenhaal

Det. Loki

Viola Davis

Nancy Birch

Maria Bello

Grace Dover

Terrence Howard

Franklin Birch

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Synopsis

Keller Dover (Hugh Jackman) faces a parent's worst nightmare when his 6-year-old daughter, Anna, and her friend go missing. The only lead is an old motorhome that had been parked on their street. The head of the investigation, Detective Loki (Jake Gyllenhaal), arrests the driver (Paul Dano), but a lack of evidence forces Loki to release his only suspect. Dover, knowing that his daughter's life is at stake, decides that he has no choice but to take matters into his own hands.

Director: Denis Villeneuve
Producer: Broderick Johnson, Kira Davis, Andrew A. Kosove, Adam Kolbrenner
Screenwriter: Aaron Guzikowski
Distributor: Warner Bros.
Production Co: 8:38 Productions, Madhouse Entertainment
Rating: R (Language Throughout|Disturbing Violent Content|Torture)
Genre: Mystery & Thriller, Crime, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Sep 20, 2013, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): May 10, 2015
Box Office (Gross USA): $61.0M
Runtime: 2h 33m
Sound Mix: Datasat, SDDS, Dolby Digital

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