He is shown at the first scene of the movie praying and several other scenes show him associated near a crucifix. Once his daughter is separated from him, it resembles his slow separation from his faith. When she is taken, he feels a personal responsibility and it shows through his wife who displays heavy depression and blames him for the outcome. Keller believes pace and procedures of this investigation seem like such a waste of time and he grows to act out. As the film moves forward, Keller becomes more and more desperate even to go as far as kidnapping and torturing a key suspect. The director does this to show the psychological collapse of an event such as this. The first scene we see with Keller and Detective Loki (Jake Gyllenhall), we see Keller standing up looking upon the detective at his desk. This shows us that Keller looks down at the detective for his naivety and incompetence. Detective Loki has a more complex role throughout the film. He is introduced to us with no family and no history of relationships at all. He was brought up in a foster home and got into some trouble as a kid. He had solved every case he had been assigned to and the pressure of solving this one shows. Keller begins to get Loki emotionally invested into the case and Loki becomes compelled to break the law. This shows Loki's internal imprisonment with his past as he battles his professional duties and his own inner personality. The characters in this film all experience psychological entrapment. The film does a very good job expressing this feeling through the interactions and dialogue of each character. .
The camera angles and lighting also bring forth several emotions for the viewers. The first scene shot was an extreme long shot of the neighborhood. As a white van creeps through the neighborhood, the rain begins and the sky becomes darker. This foreshadows to us the events that are soon to come will certainly be unpleasant.