You expect from the high-concept plot that this will be a cheesy thriller. Professor (Russell Crowe) seeking justice for wife (Elizabeth Banks) he believes was falsely imprisoned for murder. With no legal options, and her life draining away behind bars, he vows to get her out any way he can. If this were the Russell Crowe from Gladiator or American Gangster you would have one kind of film, an action-packed one in which Crowe muscled his way into the prison and killed off a dozen guards without breaking a sweat. But imagine the concept with the Crowe from A Beautiful Mind, maybe a little less brilliant, and a little less crazy, but pretty smart and every bit as obsessed. In other words, what would it take for a very driven regular guy to pull off a prison break?
While this remake of a French film (reset in Pittsburgh) is essentially a thriller, the suspense is of the sort that keeps you on edge rather than “thrilling” you. (The violence is realistic, but sporadic.) It’s a deeply unsettling film adapted by Paul Haggis. Haggis’s work can seem pretentious when applied to grand themes, as in the racism drama Crash. Here his approach that’s methodical and relentless (and nearly humorless), but never grandiose. Crowe is the picture of the man who is transformed by having the life he knew stripped away, yet does not suddenly become a superhero. In one scene, he’s nearly caught in his preparations. The moment having passed, he vomits. Banks, though her role is brief, does well to suggest the dispiriting experience of prison. (She reminded me of Sam Rockwell in Conviction.)
From Die Hard to Prince of Persia, there are zillions of suspense and action movies about men (or, less frequently, women) facing all sorts of peril to save someone. But unlike almost all of them, this movie really gives you the feeling of what it would be like if you actually tried to do such a thing.
IMDB link
viewed 11/3/10 at Rave UPenn [PFS screening] and reviewed 11/3–11/19/10
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