Escapist, The

Stars: Brian Cox, Joseph Fiennes, Steven Mackintosh, Damian Lewis, Liam Cunningham., Dominic Cooper, Seu Jorge

Director: Rupert Wyatt

Why can't people make anything straightforward these days? When you saw James Cagney in Each Dawn I Die, you knew what you were in for: tense prison action leading up to the big break. Without giving too much away, let's just say that this new prison-break story is not entirely what it seems - as eventually becomes apparent.

Cox is the long-term prisoner who resolves to crash out after hearing that his teenage daughter has become a junkie. Fiennes, Cunningham, Cooper and Jorge are fellow-prisoners who string along, while Lewis and Mackintosh are bad eggs who just might get in the way.

Despite fizzing backwards and forwards between the preparations and the break itself, this is OK until things start to get really metaphysical. Is this happening or not? As the tension drains away, the odds are that, despite decent atmosphere and performances, you won't much care.

David Quinlan

UK/Ireland 2007. UK Distributor: Vertigo. Colour by Kodak.
105 minutes. Not widescreen. UK certificate: 15.

Guidance ratings (out of 3): Sex/nudity 0, Violence/Horror 1, Drugs 0, Swearing 2.

Review date: 14 Jun 2008