The Escapist: Film Review

Seeing as how Rupert Wyatt's new take on The Planet of the Apes saga is imminent, it seems a good time to look back and reflect on his debut from 2008, his only other film, and a cracking and challenging little piece without it's deserved appreciation.

Lifer Frank Perry's (Brian Cox) hopeless existence inside a maximum security and slightly surreal prison block is turned upside down when he learns his young daughter, who he hasn't seen since she was a little girl, is on her death bed as a result of drugs. Desperate to see her one last time and make things right, he concocts a mad scheme to escape the four walls that dominate his life, roping in a group of his fellow cons. But as the day quickly approaches, a battle of intrigue with fellow inmates puts the whole plan at risk.

As the story pans out, we are treated to a split narrative, with scenes of the actual escape in baffling circumstances mixed with the build up and ulitmate explanations.

After receiving the key letter, Frank immediately starts scouting his surroundings, finding weak spots which could be exploited. Convinced that hope isn't misplaced, he approaches long term fixer and half friend Brodie (Liam Cunningham) with his ideas. Hugely reluctant to take the risk, knowing just how badly things can go wrong, Brodie is finally swayed by Frank's passion and determination to make things work. To aid in the impossible task, the pair draft in thief and strongman Lenny Drake (Joseph Fiennes), who's own hopes of approaching parole have been destroyed by Frank's former cellmate.

However, their best laid plans are threatened by the intervention of the two villians of the wing. Sadistic drug addict Tony (Steven Mackintosh) gets wind of the escape, blackmailing Frank into providing a large cache of his tipple in exchange for his silence. Tony's status and own safety are secured by his brother, the wing's psychotic and widely feared capo Rizza (Damian Lewis). So then there was four, as Rizza's own chemical wizz Batista (singer Seu Jorge) is brought in. To add to the mix, Frank's new cellmate, the young and naive Lacey (Dominic Cooper) becomes entangled in the operation and finds himself both the object of Tony's sociopathic tendencies and the beneficiary of Frank's unexpected protection. All the while, the dangerous descent and then ascent out of the nightmare prison is seen in almost fantasy tinted scenes. The film veers from twist to shock that leaves you wondering how things could possibly end up as they do. A stunning reveal at the end, one Christopher Nolan would be proud of, both provides the film a sudden poignancy and gives the title a completely different meaning.

Using a group of underappreciated but hugely talented character actors, mixed with unconventional casting choices, Wyatt (who co-wrote the script) creates an aptmosphere of stoic silence among the protaganist, building instead on unspoken and subtle reactions to give as a gauge of the characters, with the exception of two.

The first thing to reflect on are the skills of debutant Wyatt, who shows himself to be a ferocious and highly confident director who clearly has brought a lot of influences into his pacing and storytelling. The initially jarring split narrative gives the film a balance and of course, as things turn out, is hugely vital in plotting a tale that would otherwise have been a rather disposable escape yarn. He creates a wonderfully oppressive and creepy aptmosphere in the unnamed prison block, marrying old fashioned settings and practices with modern appliances and background in Gilliam esque mood setting.

This works in tandem with an understated script, allowing the actors to feed off character traits and more realistic turns, which massively aids in preventing sentamentalism creeping in. It brings the best out of a group of superb actors. Brian Cox, so often wasted in cheap villain roles, is in career defining form as the quiet, hard bitten Frank, conveying emotional pain and desperation with a single facial expression. His journey is reflected not by exposition and overlong verbal ruminations and internal dialogue, but by his slumped shoulders and unapologetic acceptance of his dire surroundings.

He's backed by an ensemble cast, with the ever reliable Liam Cunningham injecting amiability and solidity into his role as the blank canvas Brodie, while Joseph Fiennes plays against type as the aggressive and bitter, but highly resourceful Drake, a million miles away from his leading heart throb roles of the nineties. Seu Jorge acquits himself well as a drug dealer, and Dominic Cooper (pre-big break) shows a nicely subtle side as a young man with good intentions thrust out of his depth.

The two standouts are the brothers, two surprise casting choices in Steven Mackintosh and Damian Lewis. As the creepy, sinister and loathsome Tony, Mackintosh nails the jittery personality and provides a real fearful nature around the druggie, an irrationality and unpredictability which provides a very genuine risk to our heroes' hopes and dreams.

And as Rizza, Lewis's presence dominates the story, although his screentime is limited. He transforms himself from amiability to become a complex and fascinating but terrifying character who could easily carry a whole film. Ruthless and unnerving, Lewis's cockney accent and clipped speech pattern, coupled with dead eyed stares and an odd campness, teases questions and answers that go unprovided. Seemingly a plot device on legs with a feminine stut, he soon because the antithesis of Frank, a man reliant on the bars and cells for his power. He is easily one of the best villains I've seen on screen for some time.

On reflection, it is incredible to think that this film struggled to find a distributor, hence why it went so unnoticed, and also that Wyatt was able to weave such a tapestry and hugely impressive tale on such a tight budget and time constraints. A small independent film with all the appearances of a barn storming British film industry flagship.

Like so many films of it's type, The Escapist could well have been improved with an extra half an hour of screen time, as morish as it and also because of the tantalising prospect of developing the characters further and adding more variables. As it stands though, The Escapist is a surprisingly thought provoking piece that goes beyond the run of the mill it seems to be, and deserves both a watch and a place in your DVD collection.

8/10