The Escapist

Rating:

* *

Verdict:

Grim and brutal prison drama's massive twist feels like a cop-out.

That censor's rating puts it mildly: the depiction of prison life in this British drama is in-your-face grim.

Nasty things happen in showers and body parts become detached from bodies as prison officers turn their backs.

You have been warned.

But all this is nothing compared to the violence the film visits on the loyalty of its audience. To say more would be to give away the plot's major surprise, though that's a temptation difficult to resist: since the film doesn't play fair, why should I? So here's a hint: Ambrose Bierce's sublime short story

An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge

does it better and more poignantly.

The prolific Cox plays Frank Perry, a lifer in a London prison who is determined to break out so he can go the aid of his drug-addicted daughter.

To do so, he must negotiate the complicated hierarchy of lags, skilfully balancing conflicting interests, and engineer a remarkably audacious escape plan.

As a prison-break drama, it's strong enough - too strong if anything; the kinetic camerawork and booming score are in equal measure wearing and effective - and it's a pleasure to watch the reliable Cox sink his teeth into a juicy part.

The versatile Lewis as the prison kingpin and Mackintosh as his psychopathic brother are entertainingly over-the-top too, though their biggest scenes are for strong stomachs only.

But it takes a better person than I am to forgive the film its final twist.

It's intended, no doubt, to elevate the film into an existential meditation on the nature of freedom and captivity, but the otherwise literal-minded film doesn't have the infrastructure to support such weight.

You may feel ripped off, too.

Peter Calder

Cast:

Brian Cox, Joseph Fiennes, Liam Cunningham, Seu Jorge, Dominic Cooper, Steven Macintosh, Damian Lewis

Director:

Rupert Wyatt

Running time:

102 mins

Rating:

R16 (violence and content that may disturb)