I am blown away after watching this masterpiece after hearing a friend talk so highly of it. I asked them what it was about, and they said "just go watch it". Well, every now and then a film comes along that will leave an impact on you that will make it hard for you to forget. This film is one of those.
This story was told with such realism, even the actors did not seem like they were acting. At first I was hesitant when I saw that Nikolaj Coaster-Waldau - Jaime Lannister from Game of Thrones was cast, but wow did he nail his role. His transition from a white collar to jailed convict was perfect. Even Jon Bernthal's acting was great. For that matter, every character was cast perfectly and were very convincing in their roles.
The writing and screenplay is what truly made this film so great. It's a story told really well, transitioning back and forth at just the right time from back-story to current time, although I wish it had opened with the white-collar scene first, then how it led into the incarceration, and then additional back stories filled in. Had the transitioning not happened, it would have been the best documentary-type film I've ever seen, and felt even more realistic. Nevertheless, I still enjoyed the way the story was told as well as the unpredictability and surprise twists. By the end, I was left wanting more!
Stunt-man turned writer/director (also both for this film) Ric Roman Waugh did an outstanding job converting the screenplay to a very convincing on-screen masterpiece.
The cinematography and editing were perfect, but the score could have been a little better.
I hope that based on the ending, there is at least a part 2 that comes out very soon. It's a well deserved 9.5 rounded up to a 10/10 from me. So now, just go watch it!
