Denis Villenueve drama “Prisoners” overwhelms Telluride Fest audience

PanARMENIAN.Net - Hyperbole at film festivals is to be expected, but even with direct competition from Brad Pitt and the Coen brothers, the reaction to the first public screening of director Denis Villenueve’s thrilling and penetrating drama Prisoners at the 40th Telluride Film Festival was completely unexpected and significant, Deadline said.

This was a “surprise” screening and filled the 650-seat Herzog Theatre. The applause was strong and early critical praise is over the moon. Pundits will have to add this Alcon production being released by Warner Bros on September 20 to the list of strong Oscar contenders. That is, if audiences and Academy members can handle the intensity of this superbly directed and produced film that features career-best performances, for sure, from Jake Gyllenhaal and Hugh Jackman, plus a brilliant supporting cast including Melissa Leo going for another supporting win; Terence Howard; the great Viola Davis; Maria Bello; and Paul Dano, who goes through the ringer for his art. You can easily compare this gem to critically acclaimed pictures like Zodiac, Seven, Mystic River and any number of films in the genre, according to Deadline.

“Cinema is alive when people see it, otherwise it is just an object,” Villeneuve told a Deadline columnist just hours before the several debut screenings of the film this weekend. “What I love about Telluride is that it is a real audience, and I am looking forward to get the reaction. I am aware that my movie is not a comedy, not a musical. It’s a dark piece.” Villeneuve doing his first big studio film said he was aware of all the horror stories about the transition but was pleasantly surprised. He said he and cinematographer Roger Deakins were given carte blanche by Alcon. It was the perfect experience for them, and as someone commented Friday night, Deakins doesn’t like any of his directors. Whether that’s true or not, he certainly liked Villeneuve and vice versa for the director who just heaped praise on his DP who is Oscar-less despite 10 nominations — but not for long.

The film is ostensibly about the Thanksgiving Day kidnapping of two girls from two families spending the holiday together. But as the director explains, Aaron Guzikowski’s much-admired Black List script is not about a kidnapping “It’s an exploration of how violence is spreading inside a family. How it destroys the tissue inside a family. What I was really impressed with in the screenplay is the way we see the different impact of the tension and violence on the various characters. I thought the main theme of someone struggling with distrust of his own institutions and individual freedom, this kind of tension I thought was very well expressed and inspiring,” he said adding that it is a sadly contemporary subject.

Villeneuve gives much credit to the casting and his key stars. “If you cast someone like Jake Gyllenhaal, you know he will invade the part totally and create something,” he said. “My background is documentary. I am used to listening to life. The more I am doing fiction movies, the more I love actors and want to give them freedom. There is nothing more exciting than to let chaos happen in front of the camera.”