The Escapist (2008)

User Rating:

6.9/10   

Director:

Rupert Wyatt

Writers:

Daniel Hardy (writer)
Rupert Wyatt (writer)

Release Date:

20 June 2008 (UK)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

5 Men. 4 Walls. 1 Plan.

Plot:

Frank Perry is an institutionalized convict fourteen years into a life sentence without parole. When his estranged daughter falls ill...

Plot Keywords:

Escape | Tunnel | Confession Booth | London England | Nonlinear Timeline

Awards:

2 wins & 4 nominations

Cast

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
Sheamus O'Shaunessy	...	Two Ton
Domhnall O'Donoghue	...	Mary
George Seremba	...	Stan
Eleanor McLynn	...	Frank's Daughter

Runtime:

102 min

Country:

UK | Ireland

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Ireland:15A | UK:15 | Finland:K-15 | Australia:MA | Netherlands:16 | New Zealand:R16

Filming Locations:

Dublin, County Dublin, Ireland

Company:

Picture Farm

Trivia:

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

Goofs:

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

Soundtrack:

The Partisan

Sharply directed and intense, The Escapist is a triumph!

One of the best British movies I've seen in years, this has it all- a strong cast with Brian Cox turning in the performance of a lifetime - all restraint and pent-up frustration - a script that twists and turns and keeps you guessing and puzzling until the very end... and after! Grim and intensely atmospheric, the film develops into something quite unusual for the genre, and redeems its characters and even its battered viewers in the last act. It shows that a crime movie from the UK doesn't have to be all flash and swagger, it can have intelligence, sensitivity, originality. Take note, Mr Ritchie! The pace of the film, and in fact every shot and every noise, is choreographed and conducted by newcomer Wyatt with a fine balance of detail and speed. We don't need to know much about these characters: like in a real prison, they are keeping themselves to themselves. Motives are shadowy and allegiances are born of necessity. Cutting between the escape and the hatching of the escape plan makes us approach the film as a puzzle right from the start, and as the pieces fall into place, the final twist is set up perfectly. I'm looking forward to more work from the makers of this soon-to-be-Cult Movie.