Hugh Jackman is a father whose daughter (along with her friend) is kidnapped, and Hugh feels that the police aren't doing enough to find her. Jake Gyllenhall is the detective in charge of the case who is, in fact, not doing enough to find her.
Hugh has always seemed to go out of his way to try to demonstrate his wide acting range, and this is just the latest in his attempt to be grumpy and brooding on screen. And grumpy and brooding and angry and shouting and crying and conflicted is his character. I had just seen The Wolverine before this movie, and I was surprised that he never found a single reason to take off his shirt in this movie. I was surprised and gratified.
Jake has gone for the slicked-back hair and neck tattoo at this point, and I don't know that it really works very well for the character or for humans in general. Add that to the fact that he always keeps his collar buttoned on his shirt without a tie, and he looks kind of ridiculous. There was something up with his acting here, too. I can't put my finger on it, but he seemed really detached, even in the scenes where he was yelling at his boss. Speaking of which - do you know what happened when I yelled at my boss last week? Nothing, because I'm not that stupid.
Just about everyone else in this movie is just a supporting character that could fairly easily be replaced by someone else without too much trouble. I don't want to get too much into what happens, as the story takes a few turns along the way that make it pretty enjoyable.
The whole movie happens in Pennsylvania in late November and December, so every damn day is overcast and dreary just like I remember. It adds quite a bit to the solemn nature of the movie, and I can't think of a better setting for it.
Acting was good
Story was very good
Dialog was okay
Cinematography was good
Pacing could have used a bit of a prod
3.0/5