The Escapist (2008) Reviews

• Gets my vote

  thomasthetanker2009-01-20

  I didn't vote on any films in 2008. There were plenty of decent films but nothing made me want to post on IMDb, whatever I want to say has always been put more eloquently by someone else. But this film deserves credit, naturally I checked here before I watched but afterwards I felt compelled to demonstrate some appreciation. No, you moron posters, it is NOT Prison Break, neither is it trying to be. After it finishes you'll want to watch it again. It looks real and gritty definitely not studio. I don't know enough about film to tell you if it was the script, acting, filming or anything else, it took me to a different place - Isn't that what we want most in a film?

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• A Great Escape

  sundevil272008-01-22

  Seen at Sundance Premiere 2008. Within the first 2 minutes of the Escapist you know your buckled in and you won't be getting up till the credits start rolling, and thats just how it is. In the tradition of the Bird Man of Alcatraz, Great Escape, Cool Hand Luke and other greats of the prison break genre you can add the Escapist. The feel is modern but the setup is old school and true to the genre in a familiarly comforting way. Director Rupert Wyatt has created a fantastic action film with intelligent sequencing and a meaningful ending that makes you remember its indie roots. What is even more amazing though is the (((sound))) , it is insane! The sounds of the prison are so real and chilling in their quiet way, then when the action hits its like a tidal wave of sound hitting all you senses. Rarely does a new flick come along with such wide potential that brings new ideas and old ones together so well. I'm left extremely impressed by all involved. Movie will be best seen on the big screen with high quality sound, I imagine American audiences will not show this as much love as they should do to the lack of big names but I suspect the UK will embrace this very well.

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• "It's our imagination that makes us free…"

  drcath2009-01-18

  Frank Perry (Brian Cox) is a long term prisoner in a London jail where the guards look the other way and one would be wise to avoid the attentions of Rizzo (Damian Lewis), the boss inmate and his unhinged junkie brother Tony (Steven Mackintosh in scenery chewing form). The arrival of a new cell mate, Lacey (played by newcomer Dominic Cooper) coincides with Perry receiving the first letter from his family in fourteen years. His daughter is a heroin addict and close to death. Perry decides he must get out, to see her and make things right while there is still time. He goes to his closest friend Brodie (Liam Cunningham) and they enlist on-the-edge pugilist and thief Lenny Drake (Joseph Fiennes) to put together their plan. But the film begins with the escape, cleverly setting up many questions in the head of the viewer, which are then answered in flashback. We want to know why Frank starts the escape attempt what appears to be a stab wound, how drug dealer Viv Batista (Seu Jorge) gets involved and why Lacey is part of the team when he has arrived in the prison so recently. The answers come, but slowly so that it's only at the very end that the little hints and clues scattered through the story of the escape attempt itself make sense. This structure and the final plot twist would alone make this film worth repeat viewing, but not just for that. Writers Daniel Hardy and Rupert Wyatt (Wyatt also directed) let images rather than words do the talking, and with a cast of this calibre it pays off brilliantly. The actors are allowed to use their faces and bodies to tell us the story: Brian Cox letting his face fall into a pile of regret when he reads the letter, Damian Lewis's posture as he walks past the cells to find out what happened to his brother, the tiny shifts of expression on Dominic Cooper's face as he relives his forced dalliance in the showers with Tony, from self pity to self hatred and back again. It's top notch stuff. Comparisons with "Shawshank Redemption" are inevitable, but while "Redemption" was really a story about hope, "The Escapist" is actually a film about redemption, about the single unselfish act that can redeem wasted years, perhaps a wasted life. And, as Perry points out, that we're only as free as we allow ourselves to be.

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• Surprising and suspenseful

  standeman19842008-07-16

  As one reviewer said, this is an existential puzzle box of a movie, the true meaning of the title being revealed at the very end. It's not just about escaping from a prison, nor is it a pretentious metaphor. Its just very very well made. I appreciate some similarities with Shawshank Redemption for obvious reasons, but really this film stands up on its own rights. The reasons for escaping are wholly different - SR was to right a wrong while here it is familial breakdown and taking responsibility for ones own actions. Brian Cox's character, and the rest, are believable and fleshed out enough to engage with but the real achievement here is in the pacing and structuring of the plot. The film cuts between the actual escape itself and the events and planning leading up to the escape. Dominoes, diamonds, and of course, drugs all play a part in the set-up of the escape, which plays out with breathless excitement. The grim presentation of the prison, Damien Lewis' character in particular, appears shockingly believable. Prisons are not ruled in the way they should be, and a character like his, having a grip over the institution rather than the other way round, seems sadly truthful. He is very scary... The end, like Shawshank, is uplifting in a downbeat kinda way. It reminded me of The Descent, which i hope is not a great spoiler for people. I almost cried but actually you're left feeling quite happy for the central character. There is not the same redemption as SR, which is a good thing, so don't go in expecting happy endings, or heaven forbid, Prison Break The Movie. For that it is not, though its existence probably owes something to the success of that over-running TV show, and the ingenious escape route is one Michael Schofield would be proud of. But really, this is a great little indie movie which came and went at the cinema very quickly, but will no doubt find an audience in the years to come.

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• Existential puzzle-box movie - not just an escape

  died_dead_red2008-01-28

  I caught this at Sundance. Not the premiere but one of the other showings. Then I went back to a second viewing! (The only film there I'd felt that way about.) The audiences reaction said it all. People came with very little hype or knowledge about what was billed as a prison escape movie. So this was one of the few films at the festival which really exceeded expectations. I knew something was up when it started with the escape itself! Cutting back and forth between the escape and the plan was a device that I worried at first would annoy me, a tip of a hat to Memento but without good reason for being there. I was wrong - in fact the reason we get this structure is one of the cleverest reasons I've ever seen and its only fully clear what it all signified in the last few seconds of the film. But I won't spoil it.. its just worth saying that this film and its clever structure and twist makes it more of a Jacobs Ladder or Memento than a Shawshank Redemption. You need to see it twice to pick up all the clues and understand completely - a bit like Donnie Darko or Mulholland Dr - enjoyable even if you don't get it completely but there are other layers to figure out in future viewings. The film had an interesting look to it like a 70s movie and excellent cinematography although I wished that they'd either not used CG in places or done it a bit better. The acting from Brian Cox (carrying the film) and Stephen Mackintosh (minor role) really impressed, first time I've seen Cox carry a movie since Manhunter. The sound was very interestingly done which is rare and together with the unique, detailed look of the film gave me the impression of a director (Rupert Wyatt) who got to realise his unique vision.... which is what these Sundance movies should be about. The music was quite diverse, and best when not getting too sentimental, but it helped with the pace if not the mood. Leonard Cohen's song also perfectly led us in and out of the story. But the technical side of the film-making from all parties was clearly top notch and Joe Walker's editing, creating a double story while keeping both interesting was also stand-out good. I also loved the retro titles- these films its referencing from the 70s are some of my favourite but this managed to update, subvert and improve them. Hats off.

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