All Critics (44)
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Top Critics (10)
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Fresh (30)
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Rotten (15)
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DVD (3)
The movie was written specifically for Brian Cox, and it's a great fit.
This is down and dirty and raw.
The splintered viewpoints help with the monotony, but from the taunting of new inmates to the cell-block sadist, we've gone through all this before, right down to the final twists.
Too much of this movie about prison feels only like a movie about prison, with actors posing and directors getting poetic.
Shapes a standard prison-break drama into a metaphysical study of freedom and reparation.
The prison escape movie -- a tired genre -- gets some fresh energy in The Escapist, a compelling, carefully written and totally gripping film from the U.K. that is acted with naturalism and conviction by a smashing cast.
Prison drama breaks all the rules - and wins.
By keeping the focus on the humanity, Rupert Wyatt makes a strong debut as a writer/director here, and his film's got a great sense of low-budget style.
The two narrative tracks only really come together at the end, and meanwhile we have to work a bit too hard to keep track of it all.
A fractured, stylish and tense affair built around a band of great performances.
This is a rather curious film, admirable in some ways but also strangely frustrating.
A combination of a superb score and amazing performances make this a genre defying prison break film.
The filmmakers succumb to the temptation of trying to have their escape movie cake and eat the psychological drama, too
Brilliant or obscure? Engaging or pretentious? Intense performances, artistic cinematography, ambitious editing and eclectic music are the filmic elements, but obtuse storytelling with almost incomprehensible dialogue completes the picture
I hate criticising someone for ambition but The Escapist is a victory of ambition over dramatic achievement.
An old-fashioned prison breakout yarn and a tight little package of sharp acting, cloying atmosphere and narrative misdirection.
It's swifter, grittier, and louder than the typical escape movie, but it still falls firmly within the tradition of underground breakouts. Its contrapuntal timelines are twisted into a surprisingly elegant first feature.
How much you enjoy this prison drama will depend on your reaction to its fractured, flashback-laced structure. Oh, for the simple, straightforward days of The Big House!
There's an intriguing twist to this puzzling escape-from-prison drama, as Brian Cox's convincing performance propels the flasbback/flashforward suspense.
A rousing film packed with solid performances and relentless suspense that brilliantly reinvigorates the genre of prison escape thrillers.
Cox is a master of understatement, of using his gloomy eyes, his lined face and the intensity of feeling in a simple gaze or gesture to suggest the full measure of a man.
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