Hugh Jackman’s versatility in acting roles is incredible. He’s gone from a robot boxing coach (“Real Steel”), to Jean Valjean (“Les Miserables”), to Wolverine, and now into perhaps his most complex role in ages; that of a dad who’s daughter is kidnapped. Faced with few options and even less hope, Jackman conveys the role with intensity and realism that’s both brutal and jaw dropping. As the lead in “Prisoners”, he’s easily the best part of a film that’s great, but has flaws that prevent it from reaching perfection.

The story begins on a normal Thanksgiving Day, as Keller Dover (Hugh Jackman) enjoys the company of his wife, a fellow married couple (played by Terrence Howard and Viola Davis) and the two couples kids. However, when the youngest daughters of both families go missing, Keller feels the police work being done to find the two is unsatisfactory, specifically what’s being done by Detective Loki (Jake Gyllenhaal).  But when Keller takes matters into his hands, things spiral out of control, as both Loki and Keller begin to change from this horrific event and not always for the better.

This kind of dialogue driven drama lives and dies on it’s performances, and thankfully most of the cast comes through. Hugh Jackman, as previously stated, is breathtaking, while Terrence Howard, Paul Dano, Melissa Leo and Viola Davis all make up an impressive ensemble cast. The major weak link though is Jake Gyllenhaal, a man who mixed performances (good = “Source Code”, bad = “Prince of Persia”).  Here, he’s hopelessly miscast, with his whole character put in jeopardy due to his inability to convey the pathos necessary for this man, the detective whose stance in the case goes from ambivalence to determination. Unfortunately, Gyllenhaal’s one note performance prevents this major character from fulfilling his potential, and thus leaves the film as a whole feeling underdeveloped.

Thankfully, the rest of the film is top notch, with director Denis Villeneuve an expert in crafting tension and suspense constantly, most notably in a scene where Jackman confronts Dano’s character with a hammer.  While the film goes a little off the rails towards the end, it remains engaging thanks to some superb acting and the suspense never letting up.  And despite being around two and a half hours long, the film never has anything that feels extraneous (well, unless one counts Gyllenhaals entire performance).  It’s rare to find the merge of expert directing, writing and editing like this in films, and while “Prisoners” isn’t quite that great (the introduction scene of Detective Loki in particular feels out of place), it’s certainly isn’t far off.

Although it may seem like this is an overly negative perception of the film; it is fantastic.  It’s gripping in its suspense and is overflowing with actors at the top of their game. Yet, it’s got a terrible performance from Gyllenhaal (oh if only someone like Bradley Cooper had been in here, the movie would’ve been a masterpiece!) and some clumsy writing that definitely tarnishes a film that comes so close to being a bit more.  No matter; “Prisoners” is still a great film that contains some of the best performances and directing seen in cinema so far this year.