PRISONERS | FAMILY MOVIE REVIEW INFORMATION FOR PARENTS AND KIDS

"PRISONERS"
(2013) (Hugh Jackman, Jake Gyllenhaal) (R)

QUICK TAKE:: Dramatic Thriller: A father goes to extreme measures to try to find and save his young daughter who's been abducted.

PLOT:

Keller Dover (HUGH JACKMAN) is a carpenter who lives in a Pennsylvania town with his wife, Grace (MARIA BELLO); their teenage son, Ralph (DYLAN MINNETTE); and his much younger sister, Anna (ERIN GERASIMOVICH). After a day of hunting with Ralph, Keller -- who lives by the mantra of praying for the best but preparing for the worst -- walks with his family over to the neighbors' house for Thanksgiving.

Like the Dovers, Franklin (TERRENCE HOWARD) and Nancy Birch (VIOLA DAVIS) have two kids -- teenager Eliza (ZOE SOUL) and her younger sister, Joy (KYLA DREW SIMMONS). After the meal, the young girls head over to Anna's house to play, but when Keller later checks up on them, Ralph and Eliza -- who've been there the entire time -- report that they never arrived.

The increasingly worried families search the neighborhood to no avail and end up calling the police. The only immediate suspect is Alex Jones (PAUL DANO), a young man with the IQ of a 10-year-old who's driving the RV that Ralph earlier saw parked in the neighborhood.

With Detective Loki (JAKE GYLLENHAAL) now on the scene, he and other cops approach Alex's RV and arrest him after he tries to flee. But with no sign of the girls or any other evidence and considering his mental state, the police release Alex into the custody of his aunt, Holly Jones (MELISSA LEO), who lives out in a remote section of town.

Outraged about the release, Keller confronts Alex who whispers something that further convinces Dover that the young man is responsible. As a result, he takes matters into his own hands and kidnaps Alex, taking the young man to a long deserted house with the belief that he can torture the truth out of him.

As Det. Loki continues working the case, including briefly giving chase to a suspicious looking man, Bob Taylor (DAVID DASTMALCHIAN), seen at a neighborhood vigil, Keller increasingly pushes his own boundaries and morals as he's determined to do whatever it takes to find his daughter.

WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT?: Younger kids won't, but older teens who might be fans of anyone in the cast could be interested.

WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: R: For disturbing violent content including torture, and language throughout.

To continue reading the review and all of the highly detailed, scene-by-scene listings of the sex, nudity, profanity, violence and more (15 categories):

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