I feel like the ultimate fate of Jackman is something of a karmic payback for his heinous actions against Dano? His daughter is found and lives, but largely by pure luck, and he's left to bleed out in a pitch black hole. The ending leaves it questionable whether or not he's actually found (a bit of a misstep, I thought), but I don't think the film tries to justify his actions.

Oh, I believe he is found. The detective turns around with too much purpose in the very last second before the abrupt cut to the title. It is an Inception style ending: "ambiguous," but the top wobbles.

Agree. We were told he has solved every case assigned to him and immediately before, he tells the wife that he believes the husband will be found and the first time he visits the "aunt" he is seen snooping around the car. Seems telegraphed.

Yes I agree with both of you. As I said before, I appreciated the decision to not show it all happening. We can fill in the blanks that Keller is rescued and then trades one prison for another.

I guess I should clarify that when I said "ambiguous" before, I personally feel the ending was clear. But I could understand how someone might interpret it differently.

But he gets a great lawyer, and the court shows leniency due to the extreme mental duress he was under.

It is strange the police are digging in the ground, but haven't thought to move the murderer's car to a lab and maybe investigate what is in the conspicuous pit directly beneath it.

Or that nobody, apparently, reported a gunshot that night in that area.

Great cinematography, atmosphere, and performances. Very good film. My grade isn't higher because I didn't feel it went anywhere special. It's really well-executed, I just expected more from the finale. The 2 and a half hour running time wasn't an issue at all. I was never bored. The car ride scene towards the end was fantastic.

8/10 (B+)

No, because Paul Dano isn't black.

Very good movie. I was hooked the whole time and it didn't feel like a 150-minute movie. The last 30 seconds are a bit frustrating, though. Incendies was better, however.

4/5

Really close to a perfect rating. I thought this was brilliant. The cinematography, direction and score were all perfect and the performances were all amazing. Hugh Jackman and Jake Gyllenhaal both deserve Oscar nominations, IMO, and the entire supporting cast is uniformly excellent. Also, for being two and a half hours it really flew by and was incredibly intense and involving. Definitely one of my favorite movies of the year. I want to see it again. A

After all the bleak reviews I have to say I was kind of surprised, it was pretty much a happy ending. Torture scenes were extremely effective and powerful, yet not really showing much of the carnage. No real crazy violence or "Oh my god" moments, but in the end I think that worked the most. The film is subtle, but extremely exciting for such a long film. Was not bored at all.

Some simple plot holes and mistakes, and easy to see the climax, but overall, extremely well acted, and good movie.

I also don't think the ending is like The Vanishing at all. I found Jackman's obsession to be even more interesting. Leo vs. The Giant that is Jackman was well done in my opinion.

I am glad you said what you did regarding the protagonist and the film's morality since Arthur disagreed with me on this point.

To me, it almost ends up having the logic of a Liam Neeson action movie. "Violence is unpleasant, but at times you just have to kick ass to protect yours." I believe the film is trying to complicate the situation more, but the schematic nature of the ultimately optimistic third act undermines its attempt severely.

If Paul Dano's character ended up not being involved with the abduction and was in fact just a piece of meat upon which a failed father unleashes his reserves of rage and confusion, the moral blow would be much, much more bruising. Once we find out Dano's character is part of the evil plot, even if he is participating without completely understanding it, the impact is dialed down significantly.

Of course, I do not necessarily need or even want a movie to be a sermon against eye-for-an-eye violence. The depiction of violent vengeance can be extremely cinematic and cathartic. But I have to deduct points when a film clearly sets itself up to be a type of prayer against reactionary brutality, then gets confused along the way and ends up sending a muted, mixed message.

I find the last 25 minutes upsetting because the film is so damn masterful otherwise. I was completely wrapped around its finger, then it just fumbles the last two steps.

See I disagree with the points made:

Him continuing to torture Dano after the other guy confessed and the proof with the clothes goes much more to morality of Jackman's character. HIs obsession isn't about finding the girls, it's about being the head of the house, and that he is keeping up the image that he is the King of the castle, and refuses to accept that anyone else can do the job.

I agree the religion motive is lame, and I agree the film would have been stronger if the film did not have a happy ending The dumbest part to me is the fact that they conducted this major search with dogs, and never once went to the Dano's property where the girls were in a hole 10 feet just under a piece of a wood. Police have scanners that can pick up heat signals up to 30 feet under ground.

What I don't understand

PS, the creepiest thing was watching Jackman watch Dano walk his dog. Dano has played some disturbingly unlikable characters in the past, but this one takes the cake! I think the fact that we want Jackman to beat the shit out of this most obviously innocent (I think he is, brainwashed and afraid to do any wrong against his captors) adds to the more interesting element of the film.

Kant winces after this statement.

Can someone explain the motivation of the Aunt? Is she an atheist or a devil worshiper? The goal is to kidnap children because it shatters their parent's belief in God. Is the purpose so that evil can gain a foothold more easily (Jackman's actions) and less people are saved by The Good News or is the goal to shatter parent's belief in God so that there is less belief in the world? Or is she instead testing their faith to find true believers in God?

I could be muddling things. I was on a ton of pain killers at the time.

She was a devout Christian, then her child died, she got pissed at God and wanted others to be pissed at God too.

I still strongly disagree. Exactly how does the film show Jackman's actions as having worked out, considering that his daughter, in the end, is saved by coincidence. Sure, he caused this coincidence in a way by torturing Paul Dano's character (and thus having Loki come over to his mother's house), but it still remains a coincidence in my eyes. I didn't get a feeling that Jackman achieved anything. Sure, he found out for himself, but he ended up shot and in a hole. He didn't save his daughter.

But he doesn't even come to the house to inverstigate or anything. He comes to tell the woman about her nephew and then stumbles upon her holding a needle.

A nice little touch was that the Dano parked the camper outside of his childhood home, such an interesting character without really doing anything. I think that says a lot to his mental state, and in the end does make a part of the "evil" plan.

Though the parking lot scene definitely contradicts that. Dano is definitely smarter than he leads on

Because it also has to use him to tease plot points and bridge gaps in the storyline, so they increase his I.Q. when they need to and then dial it down when they want him to be the purely sympathetic victim.

Yeah a great role for him. Personally I thought it would be a much more crazy film if all of his leads kept turning into really bizarre red herrings (As opposed to the two fucked up leads he stumbled upon that happened years ago both having to do with the girls)

Just a fucked up town filled with closeted crazies, and the girls are never found, or real perp are never found.

Really? I laughed at how cliché that was. "You get it, guys? He's a loner. Because on Thanksgiving he's eating at a Chinese restaurant. 'Cause he doesn't have anyone. You get it, right?"

I have a full family, but I've had to have Christmas dinner at a diner by myself. Chinese people just tend to be there, like at Casinos because they don't celebrate it. I can't think of too many movies that have pulled that to be that much of a cliche.

TDS watches very sad movies.

I dig his intro scene, too.

Clichés can still be great. Robert De Niro returning home to his high-tech, sparse apartment and gazing out at the enormity of Los Angeles in Heat is a cliché ("Oh, my God, his house is so Le Samouraï, and though he has a cool and calm exterior, he must be secretly longing for a human connection!"), but it is also awesome, melancholy, and a great character and visual moment.