If you fancy a moment of Zen like tranquillity then forget about the tree making a sound in the forest and other vibrating molecule puzzles. Consider this. When does a prison movie become a prison break movie? The Great Escape is itching to bust out from the get-go. With Female Prisoner #701 – Scorpion, there’s a lot of lesbian cabin fever and hanging by the elbows to get through first.
The Escapist, a fiendishly clever device from debut feature director Rupert Wyatt and co-writer Daniel Hardy, seems to occupy all points on the spectrum at once. A wild chronological ride, the film hops, skips and jumps between the idea, the plan and its execution. The effect is nerve-wracking.
Brian Cox, the hardy character actor who remains, as ever, the Hannibal Lecter of our hearts, is in storming form as Frank Perry, a zombiefied convict. Twelve years into a life sentence without parole, he appears institutionalised beyond repair when a letter detailing the heroin related illness of his estranged daughter wakes him from his torpor. Determined to save her, Frank hatches an ingenious escape plan and recruits a disparate band of escapists – amiable Liam Cunningham, boxer Joseph Fiennes, psychotic Damian Lewis – to attempt survival through the sewers of underground London.
Devout fans of Ambrose Bierce or Oz might see where this is headed though most will find it a trip. This is a film that gets under your skin. Propelled by a thundering Benjamin Wallfisch (Dear Wendy) score composed of natural sounds, slamming metal and the skull rattling echo of jail cells, it courses along to take a spot alongside Bird Man Of Alcatraz and Cool Hand Luke.