The Escapist
2008 Directed by Rupert Wyatt
Synopsis
Frank Perry is an institutionalized convict twelve years into a life sentence without parole. When his estranged daughter falls ill, he is determined he make peace with her before it's too late. He develops an ingenious escape plan, and recruits a dysfunctional band of escapists - misfits with a mutual dislike for one other but united by their desire to escape their hell hole of an existence.
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The World Is More Than Enough - 30 Countries In 30 Days Challenge (13 / 30) - United Kingdom
After making a pig's ear of choosing a decent film from Canada to watch in this challenge, I was nervous about my UK selection as, once again, I had a whole heap of stuff to choose from.
I'm not even sure why I arrived at choosing The Escapist. I've had it on DVD for years and I'm a huge fan of Brian Cox, but I'm fairly sure that wouldn't have been enough for me to choose this. Whatever the reason, I'm very glad that I did because I would have struggled tohave found a film much better than this. This is,…
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I went to this hoping for just a really enjoyable prison flick with actors I really like (Cox, Cooper, Lewis) from a director I'm starting to like (Rupert Wyatt; Rise of the Apes).
I got a lot more than I bargained for. I got...
Not just really good, but excellent performances.A film that's surprisingly more complex and clever than a prison flick needed to be.
A GOOD performance from Joseph Fiennes, who surprisingly didn't ruin the film for me. Who knew the guy had one in him?
A small appearance from WWE's own Sheamus, which was weird and random, but somehow worked.
This film may not have it all, but it sure as hell has more than you would expect. -
For me it isn't a given that a prison film grabs me, especially one that involves the tried and tested route of the prison break. This film, however, is no ordinary prison break film at all.
This is an actor's film and Brian Cox owns this film from start to finish. His performance gives this film depth and meaning. He is mesmerizing in every scene he is in.
The script is clever. I first thought the jumps through time would be annoying, but they weren't because director Wyat paces it perfectly and has a few wonderful tricks up his sleeve. He runs a tight ship and gets some amazing performances out of his cast.
This is a film that transcends the prison genre tropes beautifully and cleverly, which makes it an instant favorite of mine.
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Rupert Wyatt's debut feature is very promising and gives a bold take on the prison-escape genre, but it isn't without flaws.
The Escapist stars the always superb Brian Cox as Frank Perry, a lifer with little motivation to get up in the morning. One day he gets a letter saying his daughter is gravely ill, and he decides to hatch a plan to escape, but of course there will be many obstacles in his way, and he cannot do it alone.
Instead of the standard method of introducing the characters, establishing relationships and backstories, and depicting a plan before showing the escape attempt at the end, The Escapist starts with the ending. Although starting with the end has become rather…
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The first half of the film seemed to be a regular prison escapade. None of the characters seemed to have a soul in them. But then the ending came and it literally knocked the wind out of me.
Frank Perry had a soul that would make the Gods envious.
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Ever wondered what Prison Break would be like if made in England with a lot less money? Well, look no further! To be fair, that undersells just how good The Escapist is - Prison Break is fantastic hokum but this has much more depth in terms of drama, far less about physical escape as metaphorical or emotional.
Brian Cox is one of those actors who's just good in anything and thankfully here he's given a wonderful character to play as Frank, the escape organiser - quiet yet driven, he's the anchor and the centre of the film's beautiful closing twist which, while on the one hand means the film has partly cheated you, on the other hand rewards in a…
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Rupert Wyatt's debut feature is very promising and gives a bold take on the prison-escape genre, but it isn't without flaws.
The Escapist stars the always superb Brian Cox as Frank Perry, a lifer with little motivation to get up in the morning. One day he gets a letter saying his daughter is gravely ill, and he decides to hatch a plan to escape, but of course there will be many obstacles in his way, and he cannot do it alone.
Instead of the standard method of introducing the characters, establishing relationships and backstories, and depicting a plan before showing the escape attempt at the end, The Escapist starts with the ending. Although starting with the end has become rather…
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Typical occurrences in the prison, yet an original story
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The World Is More Than Enough - 30 Countries In 30 Days Challenge (13 / 30) - United Kingdom
After making a pig's ear of choosing a decent film from Canada to watch in this challenge, I was nervous about my UK selection as, once again, I had a whole heap of stuff to choose from.
I'm not even sure why I arrived at choosing The Escapist. I've had it on DVD for years and I'm a huge fan of Brian Cox, but I'm fairly sure that wouldn't have been enough for me to choose this. Whatever the reason, I'm very glad that I did because I would have struggled tohave found a film much better than this. This is,…
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The first half of the film seemed to be a regular prison escapade. None of the characters seemed to have a soul in them. But then the ending came and it literally knocked the wind out of me.
Frank Perry had a soul that would make the Gods envious.
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Es blieb nicht soviel hängen bei mir, was nicht unbedingt für den Film spricht, es wird auch immer zwischen den einzelnen Phasen etc. wild umhergesprungen, dass ich vielleicht den Film nochmal sehen müßte um ihn auch wirklich zu kapieren.
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A smartly written, uniquely structured prison escape.
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Tenía el potencial para ser una buena película, pero la forma en que fue contada arruinó gran parte del suspenso y el giro del final me pareció un chiste de mal gusto.
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I love me some Brain Cox. He was great as usual in this, and I am a sucker for heist/break-out films. The director went on to do ROTPOTA and I can see why they hired him after this, not a perfect film but definitely worth checking out.
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A pleasant film to watch with a good cast and it's well done in general.