THE ESCAPIST
Image: Frank (Brian Cox), a lifer, is the ringleader of a jailbreak after discovering that his estranged daughter is on the brink of death in this taught, emotionally-rich tale from first-time director Rupert Wyatt. (AB)
The Escapist is told in slices of action moving in rapid counterpoint. We dive in at the end and surface at the beginning – without stopping for breath. This is a taught, emotionally-rich tale of a jailbreak that the leading actor Brian Cox says, “has a mythical quality crossing Hades to reality or redemption.” Frank (Cox), a lifer, is the ringleader of the escape plot after discovering that his estranged daughter is on the brink of death. He enlists handyman Brodie (Liam Cunningham), tough-talking thief Lenny (Joseph Fiennes), druglord Viv (Seu Jorge), and a baby-faced con Lacey (Dominic Cooper), in who Frank sees his past … and his future. At times brutal, and always genuinely moving, this diamond in the rough shouldn’t be missed.
