(No Spoilers)
When a religious man's daughter and her friend go missing, he sacrifices his own humanity and faith in an attempt to save her. Dennis Villeneuve's Prisoners may not be a great movie, but it certainly is a thought-provoking one. I'd like to believe most parents would trade their lives for their children's, but would they sacrifice their souls too? That is the question I've been pondering since leaving the cinema late last night. Without having children, I can only speak to the mother and child dynamic I've been a part of and the transference I've experienced within this bond. We've been taught to view this idea largely in the negative, a parent's hopes and dreams put upon their children and the overwhelming pressure it creates. I don't see it that way. I believe the worst thing I could say to my Mom is "I'm unhappy," because for better or worst, I understand that her happiness is tethered to my own. So in Prisoners, when a child goes missing and is feared to be in the worst possible scenario, I felt that it wasn't just a girl's life at stake, but an entire families' spirit since his being was inexorably tied to his children. And thus the paradox: A father fights for his soul as he simultaneously destroys it. I guess as my thoughts on this picture continue to evolve, I question whether that is a good thing. To have one's happiness tied to someone else?
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