Rating :   75/100                                                                     153 Min       

Brutal, but brilliant. Without doubt a genuinely disturbing film, centred around the disappearance of two small children and the ensuing police investigation, but with great performances all round it proves enthralling from start to finish. In particular, Hugh Jackman as the father of one of the missing girls and Jake Gyllenhaal as the police detective assigned the case are darkly compelling in their roles. They’re joined by Maria Bello, Terrence Howard and Viola Davis as the other parents involved, and Paul Dano as suspect numero uno. It has a similar feel to David Fincher’s ‘Zodiac’ (07), also with Gyllenhaal, and although it’s certainly not light entertainment, it is a very good, gripping film. From Canadian director Denis Villeneuve, three time winner of the best director Genie award (Canada’s highest filmmaking honour) for ‘Maelstrom’ (2000), ‘Polytechnique’ (09) and ‘Incendies’ (10).