You may be tempted to put on a Thanksgiving-themed movie next weekend, but if you’re looking to relax with family, think twice before choosing the 2013 thriller Prisoners. It’s an excellent movie that is available to stream now on Max, but it’s not suitable for a casual afternoon screening while the turkey is roasting. Still, movie buffs will definitely want to catch this one while the season is right.
Prisoners is in the “recommended” sections of a lot of streamers right now – not only is it set during Thanksgiving, it was directed by Denis Villeneuve, the mastermind behind Dune, which Warner Bros. is promoting heavily because of the new series Dune Prophecy. While there are no sandworms in Prisoners, it does have an eerie feel for a grounded thriller. Set in suburban Pennsylvania, it stars Hugh Jackman, Maria Bello, Terrence Howard and Viola Davis as the Dover and Birch families – neighbors and friends who decided to spend Thanksgiving together with their kids.
During the holiday, the two couples’ young daughters disappear while they are outside playing. Jake Gyllenhaal plays Detective Loki, who is assigned to the case, while Paul Dano plays a young man named Alex – initially the prime suspect. The cast also includes Melissa Leo, Dennis Christopher, Dylan Minnette, David Dastmalchian, Brad James and Zoë Soul.
What starts as a desperate search for two lost girls becomes a haunting psychological thriller that will stick with you. The story forces its characters to confront unthinkable choices about the lengths they would go to for their family. While these kinds of questions are moving to consider in their context, they might not inspire the best dinner conversation at your holiday. Even if a father is willing to get violent in the search for his missing children, for example, you don’t want to discuss it over mashed potatoes and gravy.
Behind the Scenes
Prisoners was written by Aaron Guzikowski, based on a short story he had written which was based in part on “The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allen Poe. The script was on the 2009 Annual Black List, and it drew a lot of attention from other A-list names. Guzikowski would later tell Film School Rejects that it was producer Mark Wahlberg who ensured the movie got made. He did not believe the script would have gotten to the right people without Wahlberg’s connections and persistence.
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Before Villeneuve was chosen, Bryan Singer was considered as director, and some of the potential stars included Christian Bale and Leonardo DiCaprio. Timothée Chalamet even auditioned for the movie, and he later told Entertainment Weekly that part of his excitement for Dune was getting another chance to finally work with Villeneuve.
Prisoners represented a big step into the mainstream for Villeneuve, who studied film in his home province of Quebec, Canada and made many of his early works in French. His first four feature-length films were critical successes, but they did not reach as wide an audience as Prisoners. This movie put him on the map in Hollywood, and was a monumental step toward projects like Dune.
Villeneuve’s next two movies were crime thrilles as well – Enemy in 2014 and Sicario in 2015 – before he pivoted to science fiction with the acclaimed 2016 drama Arrival. After that came big franchises – first Blade Runner, and finally, Dune.
Rating and Reviews
One thing that might keep families from turning on Prisoners next weekend is its R rating, but even that was hard to come by. The movie was originally rated NC-17 by the MPAA “for substantial disturbing violent content and explicit images.” It needed to be re-edited and toned down for a more marketable R-rating. Even so, many viewers find the movie hard to watch judging by self-submitted reviews on sites like Rotten Tomatoes.
Prisoners has an 81 percent positive score on the Tomatometer at the time of this writing, with an average rating of 7 out of 10 based on 250 reviews from trusted critics. Audience reviews are 87 percent positive with an average score of 4.1 out of 10.
For those interested, it’s a great time to watch – or re-watch – Prisoners, but perhaps not while family is visiting. You can stream the movie now on Max, or find it on digital, Blu-ray or DVD.
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