The Escapist (2008 film)

"The Escapist" is a prison break film starring Brian Cox, Joseph Fiennes, Liam Cunningham, Seu Jorge, Dominic Cooper, Steven Mackintosh and Damian Lewis. It is directed and co-written by Rupert Wyatt, and premiered at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival to considerable acclaim. An official Irish-UK Co-Production, the film was produced by Alan Moloney of Parallel Films and Adrian Sturges of Picture Farm. The film is currently rated 88% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes [ [http://uk.rottentomatoes.com/m/10009334-the_escapist The Escapist Movie Reviews, Pictures - Rotten Tomatoes ] ]

Plot

Frank Perry (Cox, in a role written specifically for him [ [http://www.list.co.uk/article/9148-brian-cox/ The Escapist - Brian Cox interview - Jail bait | The List ] ] ) is a lifer and has long accepted that he’ll never see the outside again. A solid and phlegmatic character, he holds his own but neither attracts nor creates any trouble. Grief is far more likely to be started by the psychotic and drug-addled Tony (Macintosh), brother to the ruthless head con Rizza (Lewis, who reportedly based his character's mannerisms on a mixture of Tony Blair and Chris Eubank). However, when Frank receives a rare letter telling him that his cherished daughter is near death following an overdose, he starts to think about escaping, and fast. He’s got a plan and he needs help. Soon a mismatched crew of all the talents comes together, with Lenny Drake (Fiennes), Brodie (Cunningham), Viv Batista (Jorge) and Cox's new cellmate James Lacey (Cooper) each pitching in.

As is customary in the prison break genre, much attention is paid both to the themes of incarceration, freedom and the four R’s - redemption, release, regret and responsibility. Where The Escapist differs from other prison break movies is in its structure. Wyatt splices the preparations with the escape itself, cutting back and forth between the two (often with visually effective jump cuts).

This gives way for a final twist which is inspired by Ambrose Bierce's story An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge.

Much of The Escapist was shot in Dublin's Kilmainham Gaol, where the open terraces and communal staircases give the feeling of a ghoulish horseshoe-shaped cathedral overpopulated by human animals. A scene near the end is shot in the bascule chamber beneath Tower Bridge in London; coincidentally, exactly the same location where Wyatt's brother-in-law Boris Starling set the climax of his 2006 novel Visibility.

Music

The film features Leonard Cohen's version of "The Partisan" and British band Coldplay who wrote an eponymous song for the film which features on the end credits and on their best selling new album "Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends" as a hidden track. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viva_la_vida]

References

External links

* [http://www.itvlocal.com/anglia/allangles/?player=ANG_AllAngles_15&void=195073 ITV Local Anglia's interview with the film's director and co-writer Rupert Wyatt]
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* [http://www.uktheatre.net/articles.aspx?DoAction=Display&ArticleID=539213996046823&CatID=121&ListUnder=0 Independent UKFilm Review of The Escapist]
* [http://www.escapistthemovie.com Official Site]