Sunday, 1 August 2.44pm
The Escapist
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    Lifer Frank Perry is determined to break out of prison and assembles a crew to help carry out his plan - right hand man Brodie, hardman Lenny Drake and resident drug dealer Viv Baptista. As they prepare the breakout, Frank's focus is distracted by the arrival of a young con, Lacey, who reminds him of days long gone. As the new kid on the block, Lacey also attracts the sadistic attention of Tony, the drug-addict brother of wing-king Rizza, putting their plan under threat.

    Rated: [ MA ] Violence and coarse language
    Cinema release: 16 Jul 2009
    Director: Rupert Wyatt
    Running time: 101 mins
    Stars: Brian Cox, Damian Lewis, Joseph Fiennes
    Links: IMDb
    Rotten Tomatoes

    What we say
    A tense and stylish take on prison escapism

    Paul Stock, MovieFix  
    3 star rating
    There are plenty of reasons to want to escape life in prison; the threat of assault that comes with that kind of enforced communal showering is just one that springs to mind. So the gamut of motives to escape prison and the different means to succeed underpin director Rupert Wyatt's tense and stylish "The Escapist".

    Prisoner Lenny Drake (Joseph Fiennes, "Shakespeare in Love") is seeking revenge against a recently freed accomplice who he feels betrayed him. James Lacey (Dominic Cooper, "The History Boys") is attempting to avoid an otherwise certain death at the hands of the prison's alpha inmate, Rizza (Damian Lewis, "Life").

    But the plot centres on Frank Perry (Brian Cox, "Troy"), who is stoically serving a life sentence until he receives news that his estranged daughter is dying as a result of a drug overdose. So he needs to get out quickly.

    This isn't the buff, tanned world of "Prison Break", nor is it the emaciated, bloodied and faecal world of IRA prisoners in last year's "Hunger". But visually "The Escapist" fits comfortably between the two, albeit with vitamin D-deficient bodies, as the story swiftly cuts between the escape itself and the motives and planning behind it.

    The switching back and forth isn't nearly as disorientating as it could have been and serves as a tidy way to maintain the momentum, intrigue and tension.

    There are moments where everything falls a little too neatly into place. But I gather you learn to be resourceful in a prison world where library cards are used as currency and an assortment of pathological, menacing redheads dominate the institution.

    As the coordinator of the plot and with perhaps the most sympathetic intentions, Perry is pursuing some kind of redemption that quietly serving his sentence can't offer. Whether Perry and his accomplices find that redemption depends on how satisfied you are by the climactic scenes. But "The Escapist" is certainly as stylish as a journey through prison plumbing can be.

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