The Escapist (2008)

Frank Perry is an institutionalized convict fourteen years into a life sentence without parole. When his estranged daughter falls ill, he is determined to make peace with her before it's ... See full summary »

Director:

Rupert Wyatt

Writers:

Daniel Hardy, Rupert Wyatt

Stars:

Brian Cox, Damian Lewis, Joseph Fiennes

2 wins & 6 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Brian Cox	...	Frank Perry
Damian Lewis	...	Rizza
Joseph Fiennes	...	Lenny Drake
Seu Jorge	...	Viv Batista
Liam Cunningham	...	Brodie
Dominic Cooper	...	Lacey
Steven Mackintosh	...	Tony
Ned Dennehy	...	Jumpy Con
Vinnie McCabe	...	Sam (as Vincent McCabe)
Jack Walsh	...	Sikes
Frank O'Sullivan	...	Hedges
Stephen Farrelly	...	Two Ton (as Sheamus O'Shaunessy)
Domhnall O'Donoghue	...	Mary
George Seremba	...	Stan
Eleanor McLynn	...	Frank's Daughter

Storyline

Frank Perry is an institutionalized convict fourteen years into a life sentence without parole. When his estranged daughter falls ill, he is determined to make peace with her before it's too late. He develops an ingenious escape plan, and recruits a dysfunctional band of escapists - misfits with unique skills required for their daring plan and united by desire to escape their hell hole of an existence. Much of the action takes place within the tunnels, sewers and underground rivers of subterranean London.

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Plot Keywords:

escape | tunnel | shower | prison | death of title character | 

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Taglines:

5 Men. 4 Walls. 1 Plan.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

UK Ireland

Language:

English

Release Date:

20 June 2008 (UK)

Also Known As:

Menekülők

Filming Locations:

Dublin, County Dublin, Ireland

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$3,075 (USA) (3 April 2009)

Gross:

$13,023 (USA) (17 April 2009)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Picture Farm, Parallel Film Productions, Irish Film Board

Technical Specs

Runtime:

102 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Director Rupert Wyatt revealed on the DVD commentary that Damian Lewis wore ladies underwear throughout filming.

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Goofs

During the scene in which Perry receives a half-kilogram of cat (methcathinone) from Batista, his cell-mate (Lacey) is shown lying on the top bunk with his head on the pillow. In the following scene, as Perry turns to sit on the lower bunk, Lacey is now leaning with his back to the wall.

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Quotes

Viv Batista: If Tony knows, then Tony knows. He's the devil on your back now. But if you want to trade, I give a trade. Ket's a dangerous drug, but deadly when poisoned... you got me? If it looks, smells and tastes like Ket, Pssshoo!... who will know?
Frank Perry: No one touches Tony. Rizza...
Viv Batista: Rizza? Who is going to tell Rizza? Junkies die every day.

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Soundtracks

"The Escapist"
Performed by Coldplay, 2007
Written by Jon Hopkins, Jon Buckland (as Jonny Buckland), Guy Berryman, Will Champion,
Chris Martin
Produced by Brian Eno & Jon Hopkins

User Reviews

Intricate prisoner delivers more with each viewing.

On the surface it looked like being a standard prison break out picture. But come the end one can't help admiring the construction of the film and marvel at how the makers used the cons to con the audience in a wholly satisfying way. The set-up is simple enough, Brian Cox's old lag Frank Perry is mortified to hear that his daughter is mixed up with heavy drugs and death is perhaps one more hit away from her. Desperate to get out of prison to save her, he hatches a plan for escape and enlists some other like minded souls, each with their own special "skill" to see it through. What follows is a twinned inter-cut tale as we witness the escape attempt and the prior motivations leading up to said escape. All building towards what one can rightly expect to be a run of the mill ending so evident in most prison based movies......

Directed by Rupert Wyatt, The Escapist thrives on claustrophobic atmosphere and grim prison reality to set the wheels in motion. Filmed at Kilmainham Jail in Dublin, this is a dank place, overcrowded and paint peeling from every wall; and of course there's an array of unsavoury characters just waiting to use violence or sexual proclivities to feather their respective nest. This place alone is reason enough for escape attempts, let alone the reasons put forward for our escaping protagonists. The audio on offer also enhances the mood, the clanking of metal or the rumbling of shuffling boots land in the ear drum with almost tenacious glee. There's also no overdose on dialogue, no filler conversations serving no purpose to the crux of the tale.

The cast are (prison) uniformly strong, led by the great and weathered Cox, the roll call of escapees also contains earthy Liam Cunningham, a buffed up Joseph Fiennes, a youthfully fraught Dominic Cooper and black magic gusto from Seu Jorge. While within these walls menace comes from a weaselly Steven Mackintosh and the excellently chilling Damian Lewis as nick daddy Rizza. All in all, The Escapist, if you pardon the pun, is a break out movie two fold. Not just as a story, but also in offering up something different in the genre it belongs too. Much like Brian Cox himself, The Escapist is something of a British treasure. 9/10