The Escapist (2008)

Trailer - https://youtu.be/FkiMZ5LXJJY. There have been a few superb thrillers made on the subject of prison breaks. 'The Shawshank redemption', 'Cool hand Luke', 'Papillon', 'The great escape', 'Victory', 'Escape from Alcatraz', 'Lock up' and quite a few more (I will not include the mainstream TV show, 'Prison Break' here, for obvious reasons, though HBO's 'Oz' was decent). This one takes a newer narrative approach, by alternating between 2 time periods. This technique has been used since, in quite a few flicks, sometimes without purpose, and I'm generally not a fan of the same, since knowing about how things turn out in the future, within the confines of these thriller genre, kinda kills the surprise element, for me. So, I just resigned myself to watch how things played out, since my objective was to observe and better understand director Wyatt's film making techniques (before watching this, I was a huge fan of his 'Rise of the planet of the apes') more than anything, and the fantastic ensemble, including lead Brian Cox, Liam Cunningham, Joseph Finnes, a young Dominic Cooper, Steve Macintosh ('Luther') and Damian Lewis, round off the fine ensemble cast ever so nicely. Well, that sure paid off. Right until the end, I thought I knew how everything was gonna turn out, but then, at the end, when I was just gonna dismiss this one as just a good ensemble effort, bam! The entire movie became something else. Whatever I saw until then took on new significance, a newer meaning. Bravo! The soundtrack could've been the typical dotting the i's kinda thing, but there are a few refreshing themes and compositions that stand out. Mature content warning, though. Not to be missed, and I wish this one had released theatrically around me.

The movie contains two story lines, we see the planning to escape, the preparation on one line, at a same time we are shown the process of escape. While we accompany the lead role, Brian Cox, to a subway station and to his daughter as a successful escape, he gets killed back in prison. this is the place that the title of the movie, The Escapist, helps us understand what is happening. we are escaping with a man who is an escapist, a man who is long gone and no longer belongs in prison, he's back home and saves his daughter, the thing that is left in prison is nothing but a corpse who is drenched in reading a book over and over. The very last dialogues of the movie between the warden and him demand dire attention, to him the Warden does not exist beyond the walls of the prison while he is there, at least his mind is there. He is just a dreamer, long asleep in prison, long living with his family!

A thoroughly absorbing, gripping British film starring Brian Cox..not a household name like Ajax or Corn Flakes, but you'll recognise him from The Bourne Identity, Match Point…etc..and Joseph Fiennes; and plenty of the others in this cast, who have done lots of solid duty in countless British and American TV and films.. The Escapist is set in a prison, and is a salutary reminder that perhaps you shouldn't borrow more than is necessary from the Tennis Club Christmas Party fund, or carve up a senior bank executive however much encouragement you may receive, because you might end up in jail and if it's anything like the jail in The Escapist, woe betide ye. Brian Cox plays Frank, an old lag, who's in for life and is desperate to get out so he can see his beloved and estranged daughter, who is very ill. Frank with the aid of various fascinatingly shady pals, hatches a brilliant plan to escape through the sewers and tunnels of London, but will they even get out of the nick? It seems unlikely. There are so many evil characters within the jail conspiring to thwart anything they do, and the tension is properly cranked up. It's quite violent MA 15+. At one point, early on in the film I unpeeled a banana, and I was so gripped that when the DVD finished I was still holding half the banana, poised for a bite. Congratulations to all concerned.

I hate it what that happens. I enjoyed this movie very much, moreso than most but only found it by sheer accident. makes me wonder how many other little gems I've missed.it's hard to say a lot about the story w/o giving something away but I liked that this was just a simple/solid movie, well-edited and well-done. no fancy script, no navel-gazing, no big action per se, just an undercurrent of intensity that held my attention. I'm a tough grader and gave it an 8 but I think not so much on its merits but in comparison to so much of the garbage out there.maybe it's just my kind of interest but unlike a lot of movies, this one not only has a pay-off but the editing makes it easy to stay interested until then. it's not nearly as complex as memento for example (a 9 or 10 in my book) but is done better than most in that what they selected leaves you wondering what's going to happen next in b when they cut back to a and vice-versa.this one is what makes me like watching movies, just wanting to be entertained for an hour or two, not bored to tears or wonder "wtf??" when it's over.