The father of one of two abducted little girls kidnaps, imprisons and tortures a young man he believes was responsible; meanwhile, a detective on the case finds two additional suspects who may have had some involvement. Unpleasant but undeniably gripping effort with strong performances, though the locale--a rainy blue collar town (shot mostly in Georgia)--fails to come to life. Cars race around through different neighborhoods and we lose our bearings, which may be the fault of director Denis Villeneuve. There's also some awkward confusion over the initial suspect's arrest: he's held and then released, he's conveniently catatonic in the police station but mutters something odd to the angry father out in the parking lot, he can't pass a lie detector test without understanding the questions yet he has a driver's license. There's also some fudging by screenwriter Aaron Guzikowski, who would rather toss in trunks full of snakes and mazes on the walls then tell us how some crazy acting man managed to get two rambunctious little girls into his camper. One Oscar nomination: for Roger Deakins' cinematography. **1/2 from ****