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Prisoners

2013 film

Watched 28 December 2016

Just harrowing. This film hit me like a brick.

Denis Villeneuve has definitely got a good thing going — he is proving himself to be a master of both tone and detail. Despite being two and a half hours long, the film never lets up. Not a moment feels wasted; every shot is packed with information and detail. The soundtrack is perfect. And my god, Roger Deakins.

Jake Gyllenhaal is amazing in this, like I was promised. People should stop complaining about the quality of “new-school” American actors, because this guy exists.

About star ratings

My ratings are subjective. I’m not aiming for a perfect ranking of comparative artistic merit, just trying to represent how I feel about stuff. Here’s what they mean:

Personal favorite. I simply love it, warts and all.
Something special. Highly recommended.
Good, but unremarkable. I’ll probably forget about it.
A waste of time. Not recommended.
Practically insulting. Soulless garbage. (Rare!)