 A FilmExposed Film Review |
 Dir: Rupert Wyatt, 2008, UK/Ireland, 99mins
Cast: Brian Cox, Liam Cunningham, Seu Jorge, Steven Mackintosh, Joseph Fiennes, Dominic Cooper
With its blistering opening sequence, frenetic music and freeze frames of the main characters, The Escapist initially seems like just another Brit-crime escapade full of familiar faces and unconvincing action. Thankfully, the initial fizz soon settles down and the film proves a lot more thoughtful than it first appears. This is thanks in no small part to the central performance of Brian Cox, who instils his character – Frank Perry – with a quiet strength that stubbornly propels the film along through sheer force of will. Frank is a lifer, totally resigned to a life behind bars until he receives word that his estranged daughter is mortally ill from a drug overdose. Suddenly, this institutionalised man cannot remain inside any longer and sets about assembling a crew to bust out.
While this gang could easily be seen as the usual suspects, inventive casting and characterisation prevents the group from straying too far into cliché. Joseph Fiennes does a good job playing against type as the bare-knuckle fighter Lenny Drake, while Seu Jorge (City of God, 2002) adds a cool insouciance as the drug-dealing librarian Viv Batista. The film’s key relationship, however, is between Frank and the young prisoner Lacey (Cooper). While the other prisoners are little more than tools to assist in the break-out, the wide-eyed naif represents a form of redemption for Frank and this paternal protection brings him into conflict with the malevolent brothers who run the wing (Lewis and Mackintosh, both of whom are effete and menacing to varying degrees).
As the film progresses, the plot veers back and forth between the men’s progress through the underground sewers and the steps required to acquire the resources for the breakout. Stylistically, The Escapist follows the split personality of these concurrent narratives. Just as the story flits between the escape and its preamble, the heart of the film seems to sway between glossy fantasy and gritty reality. This leaves the piece in a state of flux – trapped somewhere between the bubblegum thrills of TV’s Prison Break and the grinding oppression of realist dramas such as Scum (1979). To its credit, The Escapist effectively conveys the grinding pressure of incarceration, mainly though excellent sound design and art direction that creates a tense and often uncomfortable viewing experience. This sense of oppression is helped by the dialogue, which is sparse and allows the cast to use expression and gesture to communicate, again reinforcing the loss of freedom imposed on both character and audience. Unfortunately, the film then breaks this spell of with one or two set-pieces that verge on the ridiculous and serve little or no purpose to the story.
These occasional lapses notwithstanding, The Escapist is a taut and well-made thriller that manages to hold its own within the prison break genre. While far from perfect (particularly the ending, which will either be somewhat flat or just irritating depending on your disposition) the central performances keep the film compelling, even when the premise seems thin. |
