The Escapist

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.

No pun intended - prison break movies are quite the thing. And you either like them or not. What makes this different is how it is edited. The timeline and the surprises/twists that wait for you around the corner ... any corner that is. Maybe even inside a cell ... or down the stairs ... ah more puns, I love it.

That all being said, the movie is really well made and especially acted. The amount of talent in front of the camera is quite astonishing ... well casted to say the least. And all men are needed - yes this is a mens movie. I mean it is a prison for men, so it makes sense. One noteable exception ... though one that is the motor for the story too. You understand the sentiment of Brian Cox ... and why he does what he does ... but also why he doesn't do what ... well you'll understand once you watch. Just do not read too much before watching it ... it will elevate the viewing pleasure.

It was only yesterday that I had the chance to watch a film that is little known, yet somehow managed to make it to my nearest Vue cinema in-between some of the current, perhaps contrived blockbusters that are on our screens currently. So it was only with great surprise that this film, which I had heard great things about after it debuted earlier this year at Sundance had a screening, after some persuasive actions on a friend, I was able to settle down for what I hoped would turn out to be a memorable prison film. At a first glance The Escapist would appear to be your usual affair of a prison drama, however Rupert Wyatt has done far more than that in this wonderful existential, puzzle box of a film, it drives on with true mystique and leaves you as the viewer questioning the true structure of the narrative as it thrives you along to the thrilling, lynchian climax.

The opening of the film begins the puzzle with what appears at first to be a strange narrative choice, you join a number of inmates that are seemingly in the midst of a prison break. The thumping electronic score sets your heart racing with a mixture of confusion and interest. Just as you think your in the middle of the escape, the director makes what seems to be a very questionable editing choice. He appearingly jump cuts back in time, before the escape. The film itself constantly jumps between the escape and the lead up to the escape. Throughout the first half of the film I must admit I found this seemed to hurt the pace of the film, but that's only if you take this as a conventional Prison-Escape film. This isn't Escape From Alcatraz. And this narrative style that is explored through the film becomes clear more and really begins to pick up the pace in the second half, and the climax of the film really does show this choice of structure really did compliment the story. You genuinely are knocked out by the films climax, it's on the same level as Memento, and you feel equally fulfilled by the end of The Escapist.

The cast is really five star, lead by the wonderfully diverse Brian Cox as the haunted, subdued life sentence serving inmate Frank Perry. Arguably his career defining performance. He brings multiple layers to the character impressively without much dialogue, it's a powerful, albeit silent performance for the most part, but you genuinely feel for his character, and without giving anything away you will understand why when you do see the film, as the main story point is what leads to the engineering of the escape. Cox is joined by a fantastic supporting cast of some of the finest English actors around today. For the most part there appearances are often short, but there screen time does more than enough to create the tense, look behind your back atmosphere you would expect in any prison film. Steven Mackintosh gives a chilling performance as the stereotypical inmate that is always the prisons big bad. He takes a distinct liking towards Perrys new cellie, with some unnerving results. His fictional older brother in the film, the "leader" of the cell block is played by the wonderful Damian Lewis who I became a big fan of after Band Of Brothers. He has considerably less screen time here but for me, his chilling stares, and few words were some of the most memorable for me after the credits rolled.

The cinematography of the film is quite simply incredible. With a bleak grey tone to the film that keeps the existential atmosphere brooding in the background. Much of the film takes place in vast maze's of underground tunnel works. The filmmakers managed to captured a claustrophobic feel towards the ongoing story. Full of black shadows and long, seemingly endless age old tunnels that are barely lit by the flickering orange flame from their cell-made torch's. The cinematography really helps compliment the enclosure of the prison, both inside it, as well as the escape. Their really isn't anywhere to go, its dark, brooding, and downright terrifying. As you would expect a prison to be! The Escapist really is a revelation in regards of modern cinema. It just reels you into the story from the get go and takes you on a bleak ride through the dark underbelly of the prison, metaphorical in its tone, Rupert Wyatt really has crafted something wonderful here. The film defiantly leaves you with that deep satisfaction that Britain has been getting some blisteringly good films as of late, alongside films like Dead Man Shoes, it gives you the sense that there is still a lot of great to come.

Truly superb film. I was impressed by the choice of actors, some of whom played characters that one wouldn't expect them to do so well in - Damian Lewis, in particular, really impressed with his performance as 'the bad guy', while Steven Mackintosh also does an impressive job of scaring the living daylights out of you in this film.

The sound design and parts of the music really help the film along, building the pace at the right moments, creating suspense and capturing the raw, gritty feeling of prison life perfectly. It was a delight getting so involved in the subtleties of a film's soundtrack - something that is lacking in modern day feature films.

This film should stand out far more than other films of this genre, it is award-winning material.

Frank Perry is twelve years into a life sentence when he learns that his estranged daughter has become a junkie on the outside. Unable to do anything for her from his cell and unwilling to wait till he gets out, Frank comes up with a base plan to escape from the prison and brings several other prisoners on board to assist him. The escape itself can be worked out to detail and timings but in the meantime it is the days leading up to the escape that prove to be the more testing in a world of betrayal, power, rape, murder and drug use.

Watching the trailer for this film some time ago I was left not particularly fussed about whether I got to see it or not – it just looked like I expected and offered little. The generally good reviews made me check it out when it was released on DVD though and I'm glad that I did because this is a much better film than it looks on the trailer. It is not that the plot is something different from a prison movie , although it is a little, it is the manner of delivery that makes the film work as well as it does. The concept is strong but it is the editing and structure that are the driving forces here. We start the film in two places. On one hand we are with the group as they start their escape attempt, while on the other hand we are some time before this when Frank gets his motivation to escape.

What this structure does is increase the tension by having two dramatic threads happening at the same time, with the escape itself delivering the pace to pay off against the build-up that is happening at the same time in the other thread. Rather than building up to the escape then the film does both at the same time and it is an effective and engaging technique. The point where one thread catches the other isn't totally convincing in some regards and I'll not be the only person to express a slight doubt at the dramatic punch of the conclusion but, with being caught up in the story so effectively up till this point, it does work and the way that it slightly undoes the impact of some of the film that had gone before is not a killer of a problem so much as it is a minor niggle.

Wyatt's direction is roundly good and, as co-writer, he makes the most of the structure and material. It helps of course when your debut feature has an impressive collection of actors and performances – and Wyatt's does. As he also showed in Red recently, Cox makes an engaging leading man when given the chance. Fiennes is not quite so good as he perhaps overdoes his swagger and toughness – still looks the part and does well but again he is a slight niggle. I liked Cunningham's turn as well as Cooper – although the latter had a bit of a wet and less engaging character to work with. Brazilian musician Jorge was a bit of a weird find but did OK. Mackintosh is engaging and convincing in how he acts knowing he is technically untouchable due to the actions of his brother. Lewis is not in the film for much of the running time but his "less is more" approach produces a real menace when he is given the camera.

The Escapist is a comparatively small British film full of faces you'll recognise but nobody who is a real "leading man" in film terms, directed by Wyatt making his feature debut after a few shorts to his name. However it is cleverly structured and delivered with a real sense of quality in the story, direction and performances. It is not perfect but it is much better than the trailer suggests and I was pleasantly surprised by how much it engaged me and how much I enjoyed it.