British like to view themselves more civilised and enlightened in comparison with their former colonies, so it is quite rare to see British film that promotes vigilante justice sentiments like Hollywood used to in 20th Century. One such rare examples, which became rather obscure for that very reason, is The Escapist, 2002 thriller directed by Gillies MacKinnon.
Protagonist, played by Jonny Lee Miller, is Denis Hopkins, well-to-do pilot whose idyllic life get shattered with home invasion during which psychopathic criminal Ricky Barnes (played by Andy Serkis) murders his pregnant wife. Denis is deliberately left alive and Barnes is later caught and sentenced to twenty years of prison. Denis doesn’t see that the justice was being done because Barnes was openly mocking him in court. After contemplating suicide, Denis instead hatches outrageous plan to get his revenge. He fakes his death, takes new identity and deliberately commits series of crimes and prison escape attempts in order to get sentenced and shipped to maximum security prison where Barnes serves his sentence. There he finds Barnes planing escape of his own. Denis is actually coerced to help with the scheme when Barnes’ son Joey (played by Philip Barantini) takes Denis’ sister-in-law Christine (played by Jodhi May) and her children hostage.
Outrageous and complicated plot, that could have filled couple of episodes if not the entire season of TV series like 24 or Prison Break, somehow works in this low budget film that looks unusually exploitation-like for standards of British cinema. Much of it has to do with the very good cast. While Jonny Lee Miller is rather bland in playing British version of Paul Kersey, Jodhi May looks wasted in obligatory female role and Andy Serkis goes predictably over the top as vilest of all villains, the supporting players, especially Scottish veteran Gary Lewis, hold this film together. Gillies MacKinnon, experienced Scottish director who worked mostly on television, does a very solid job and wraps up plot in digestible hour and half. The Escapist remains solid despite ending which is predictable and quasi-moralistic epilogue. Despite that, it became somewhat obscure and much of it had to to do with another British prison film with the same title, made in 2008 and starring Brian Cox.
RATING: 5/10 (++)
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