Jake Gyllenhaal in “Prisoners” was simply a cop doing his job, and it was a beautiful thing to watch. I didn't know anything about his character, where he was from, if he was married, had any kids, what the tattoo on his neck meant or why he buttoned the top button of his shirt. Nothing. And he wasn't interested in telling me. He was too busy being a cop. But by the movie's end, I knew him. Totally. Completely.
And he was never interested in helping me, as an audience member, understand him, or like him, or sympathize with him. He was only interested in doing his job. It's always thrilling to watch a living, breathing human being on the screen. That's Jake. He takes you with him on this journey.
Doesn't ask you to come along, doesn't even know you're there, because he's too busy being a cop doing his job. It's the case of a lifetime for this guy and he's working it alone. No other cops to talk about it with. It's internalized, lived, and I could watch all day. Simply a great performance.