Felon (2008)

A family man convicted of killing an intruder must cope with life afterward in the violent penal system.

Director:

Ric Roman Waugh

Writer:

Ric Roman Waugh

Stars:

Stephen Dorff, Marisol Nichols, Vincent Miller

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Stephen Dorff	...	Wade Porter
Marisol Nichols	...	Laura Porter
Vincent Miller	...	Michael Porter
Anne Archer	...	Maggie
Larnell Stovall	...	Viper
Val Kilmer	...	John Smith
Sam Shepard	...	Gordon
Johnny Lewis	...	Snowman
Harold Perrineau	...	Lt. Jackson
Shawn Prince	...	Todd Jackson
Chris Browning	...	Danny Samson
Nick Chinlund	...	Sgt. Roberts
Greg Serano	...	Officer Diaz
Jake Walker	...	Warden Harris
Nate Parker	...	Officer Collins

Storyline

A family man, Wade Porter, is living the American Dream with his girlfriend Laura and their son Michael: they have a nice house, he has just raised a loan to make his company grow and they are going to get married. However their dream becomes a nightmare when Wade unintentionally kills a burglar that had broken into their house in the middle of the night on his lawn. He is sent to trial and accepts a deal proposed by the prosecutor, being sentenced to three years in prison. During the transportation, there is an incident in the bus and Wade is framed and sent to the maximum security wing under the command of the corrupt Lieutenant Jackson. His cell-mate John Smith that was sentenced to life after avenging the death of his family befriends Wade and gives helpful advice and instills hope in Wade that he will return to his family.

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Plot Keywords:

prison | bare chested male | aryan brotherhood | male nudity | male rear nudity | 

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Taglines:

No Rules. No Hope. No Way Out.

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Genres:

Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for brutal violence, pervasive language and brief nudity

Did You Know?

Trivia

The tattoos applied to Val Kilmer were purposefully realistic and based upon research by the director and Kilmer. The designs were done primarily in monochrome with fine-line secondary to the predominant influences on skin art in maximum security prisons evidenced at the time of the production.

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Goofs

Opposing prison gangs would never be allowed to share the same small recreation yard in an Administrative Segregation Unit. The only time this would even occur would be on the mainline population yard.

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Quotes

John Smith: Perception is reality. I chose to create mine. Others choose to accept it.

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Connections

Followed by Shot Caller (2017)

User Reviews

one of the better prison films

I give it a 10 out of 10 because it kept me in front of the screen, I think it portrayed the prison life from many different perspectives. Despite this dark storyline it's a film I enjoyed more than many others in the last years. It's the first time I leave a comment in 3 years at IMDb, just to let you understand how I enjoyed this film. All characters are developed to suit the overall story, without going too deep or to shallow. Especially Harold Perrineau surprised me, this is his best performance to date. Val Kilmer was just a pleasure to see, this dark Character suited him very well, his acting becomes better and better the older he gets. Great screenplay followed up by a formidable cast. I look forward to see more from Ric Roman Waugh.

Details

Official Sites:

Sony Pictures [United States]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

18 July 2008 (Canada)

Also Known As:

Felon

Filming Locations:

Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$2,900,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Stage 6 Films, Tucker Tooley Entertainment, Pantry Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1