Frank (Brian Cox) is an old man in jail for life, a concept that he’s okay with… until now. He gets a letter informing him that his much loved daughter is critically ill after an overdose. Frank's got to see her, and plots a jail break. He recruits Drake (Joseph Fiennes), Brodie (Liam Cunningham) and Viv (Seu Jorge) for a daring escape. But can they pull it off under the nose of vengeful top con Rizza (Damian Lewis)?
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The institution at the center of this film is a decaying old-school prison with heavy keys and paint flaking off the bars, and seemingly run by the ginger mafia. There’s no bullet-proof glass or high-tech surveillance here, just the same elements and familiar archetypes that made The Shawshank Redemption and even The Great Escape, well, great.
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Opening with a close-up of Brian Cox’s wonderfully craggy face and Leonard Cohen’s ‘The Partisan’ on the soundtrack, prison movie The Escapist promises much... It doesn’t quite deliver on that set-up, but deserves kudos for ambition and intensity.
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Shapes a standard prison-break drama into a metaphysical study of freedom and reparation.
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Not for all tastes, but if you ever wished that Guy Ritchie could re-capture his initial potential, The Escapist is a good fix.
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Lusciously shot, and economical in the edit, i found by the closing credits I had rather enjoyed The Escapist.
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It makes for an unexpectedly welcome form of dramatic escape: the character study breaking free from a hoary old movie genre.
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All of this mayhem keeps us watching, but it would be hard to describe the experience as pleasurable.
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At last, a British crime movie that’s as good as its pitch sounds: Brian Cox trying to break out of prison. Do you need to know any more to want to see it?
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We aren’t aware of any way to watch The Escapist in Australia. If we’ve got that wrong, please contact us.
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