Prisoners

Prisoners (2013), Denis Villeneuve’s first English-language feature, has an interesting backstory. The screenplay, written by Aaron Guzikowski, spent years in Hollywood limbo after landing on the 2009 Black List of best unproduced scripts, attracting names like Bryan Singer and Antoine Fuqua before finally reaching Villeneuve. What drew him to it was not just the thriller plot but the moral dilemma at its core: how far a parent might go to protect their child, and the thin line between justice and vengeance.

Villeneuve approached the film as a psychological and ethical study rather than a conventional crime story, with Roger Deakins’ stark cinematography reinforcing the bleak, oppressive mood. Casting was key - Hugh Jackman’s raw desperation contrasted with Jake Gyllenhaal’s tightly controlled detective, a role to which Gyllenhaal added personal touches like a blinking tic and a Masonic ring. Villeneuve also drew inspiration from morally ambiguous thrillers like Se7en and Zodiac, aiming for a slow-burn intensity where the environment itself feels like a character.

The film was both a critical and commercial success, cementing Villeneuve’s reputation internationally and paving the way for Sicario, Arrival, Blade Runner 2049, and eventually Dune.

Roger Deakins approached Prisoners with the intent of making the environment an emotional extension of the story, using naturalistic light, overcast skies, muted palettes, and practical sources like headlights or streetlamps to create a grounded yet unsettling atmosphere. His framing often boxed characters into their surroundings, visually echoing the film’s themes of confinement and moral ambiguity, while long lenses and careful composition added tension without showiness.

This collaboration marked the beginning of a deep creative partnership with Denis Villeneuve, later expanded in Sicario and culminating in the monumental visual achievement of Blade Runner 2049.

Across these films, Deakins refined his ability to blend realism with poetic imagery, shaping spaces and light into psychological landscapes that heighten Villeneuve’s explorations of morality, power, and human vulnerability.