Common Sense Note
Parents need to know that Prisoners is a brutally intense crime thriller/revenge film starring Hugh Jackman. Characters make unthinkable choices to find their missing kids, and there's frequent bloody violence. In addition to the central kidnapping of two little girls, people are shot and killed (or kill themselves), beaten to an unrecognizable pulp, and tortured in various ways. One man shoots himself in the head, and a police officer must shoot a suspect. There's frequent strong language ("f--k," "s--t," "a--hole"), as well as excessive alcohol use by adults and some use of pills and other drugs. The movie's disturbing themes and unflinching violence make it best suited for adults and possibly some very mature teens.
Sexual
Content
Two married couples are affectionate, but they usually embrace out of grief rather than passion. A very brief glimpse of a teen girl in a tub (just her head and shoulders).
Violence
Many scenes of bloody torture and imprisonment, including close-ups of a chained and brutally beat-up man's face, a young man who shoots himself in the head, a man forced to drink a sedative, a girl who's about to be poisoned to death, the screams and cries of victims, and police killing a criminal. A father yells angrily and curses at his son. People are shot, bludgeoned, tortured with scalding or freezing water, and imprisoned. Young girls are missing.
Language
Frequent strong language includes "f--k," "s--t," "a--hole," "bitch," "damn it," "hell," "goddamn," "oh my God," etc.
Social
Behavior
Sometimes otherwise moral people make murky (and even illegal) choices in order to take justice into their own hands -- particularly when their loved ones' lives are at stake. Keller tells his son that the only thing standing between a man and a sudden threat is his ability to protect himself and those he loves.
Consumerism
A few vehicle brands -- Ford Crown Victoria, Trans-Am.
Drugs / Tobacco /
Alcohol
Adults drink, sometimes to excess. A priest is so drunk on whiskey that he's basically passed out on the floor, and a man who says he hasn't had a drink in nine years then starts to drink regularly. An upset mother takes sleeping pills and other prescription opiates. A kidnapper forces prisoners to consume a drug-laced drink.
