The Escapist
This summers cinema releases are proving to be full of hidden, underrated gems amid the usual blockbuster fluff. The Escapist is the latest addition to this trend – a stripped down, no-nonsense prison break thriller starring Brian Cox as Frank Perry, a man desperate to make amends with his daughter on the outside before she dies from a drug habit.
The audacious narrative structure cuts back and forth between the escape itself and the planning thereof, cleverly creating two nail-biting plotlines designed for maximum suspense. Not only do viewers want to know if the prisoners will escape, but how Frank overcame seemingly insurmountable obstacles prior to the break out. Most of these obstacles are not caused by the authorities but by top convict Rizza (Damian Lewis), a creepy and spectacularly nasty piece of work.
Cox is excellent in the lead and other cast members – including Joseph Fiennes, Liam Cunningham, Seu Jorge and Dominic Cooper – all provide good, albeit stereotyped, support in their various roles. Speaking of stereotypes, many of the usual prison drama clichés are present and correct, but are put to compelling use by Daniel Hardy and Rupert Wyatt’s strong screenplay.
Wyatt also makes his directional debut, and in this area is completely in control. By deliberately eschewing exterior shots and keeping the action set exclusively inside the prison and underground tunnels, he achieves a tremendous sense of claustrophobia. The prison Frank is escaping from is not a modern one (as a friend of mine who visits prisons once said, they are better than some hotels he’s stayed in), but a properly old-fashioned, grim, nasty place where guards are barely visible and do not interfere in the regime Rizza has set up.
Of course, at its heart this is B-movie nonsense, but it’s very gripping B-movie nonsense, even if it’s essentially a British version of Prison Break boiled down to a tight 102 minutes instead of dragging it out over endless weekly episodes. It also has a strangely existential twist ending which elevates it above and beyond anything Prison Break had to offer. Although it’s not quite in the same league as Midnight Express or The Shawshank Redemption, The Escapist is still a very fine piece of work and well worth a look – if you can stomach the very strong language and occasional nasty burst of bloody violence.
Simon Dillon, June 2008.
