The Escapist (2008)

Director:

Rupert Wyatt

Writers:

Daniel Hardy (writer)
Rupert Wyatt (writer)

Release Date:

20 June 2008 (UK)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

5 Men. 4 Walls. 1 Plan.

Plot:

Frank Perry is an institutionalized convict fourteen years into a life sentence without parole. When his estranged daughter falls ill...

Plot Keywords:

Escape | Tunnel | Confession Booth | London England | Nonlinear Timeline

Awards:

2 wins & 4 nominations

Cast

Brian Cox	...	Frank Perry
Damian Lewis	...	Rizza
Joseph Fiennes	...	Lenny Drake
Seu Jorge	...	Viv Batista
Liam Cunningham	...	Brodie
Dominic Cooper	...	Lacey
Steven Mackintosh	...	Tony
Ned Dennehy	...	Jumpy Con
Vinnie McCabe	...	Sam (as Vincent McCabe)
Jack Walsh	...	Sikes
Frank O'Sullivan	...	Hedges
Stephen Farrelly	...	Two Ton
Domhnall O'Donoghue	...	Mary
George Seremba	...	Stan
Eleanor McLynn	...	Frank's Daughter
Phelim Drew	...	Doctor
Bernadette McKenna	...	Frank's Wife
John Crean	...	Young Prison Guard
Pat Ainscough	...	Prison Guard
Alan Curran	...	Cockney Con
Tony Senior	...	Boxing Con
John Campion	...	Screw
Robert Prior	...	Screw
Marcel Vidal	...	Rizza's Lackey
Paul Vaughan	...	Prison Tannoy Voice (voice)

Directed by
Rupert Wyatt

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Daniel Hardy		writer
Rupert Wyatt		writer

Produced by
Alan Moloney	....	producer
Susan Mullen	....	co-producer
Patrick O'Donoghue	....	line producer
Adrian Sturges	....	producer
Tristan Whalley	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Benjamin Wallfisch

Cinematography by
Philipp Blaubach

Film Editing by
Joe Walker

Casting by
Tamara Gillon

Production Design by
Jim Furlong

Art Direction by
Irene O'Brien

Costume Design by
Maeve Paterson

Makeup Department
Rosie Blackmore	....	chief makeup artist
Lorraine Brennan	....	hair stylist
Carole Dunne	....	chief hairdresser
Aoife Mullally	....	makeup trainee

Production Management
Clare Maclean	....	post-production supervisor
Alexander O'Neal	....	unit production manager: London

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Tony Aherne	....	first assistant director
Jim Corr	....	assistant director: additional photography
Jim Corr	....	trainee assistant director
Catherine Dunne	....	second assistant director
Anna Harrison	....	trainee assistant director
Eimear Healy	....	trainee assistant director
Alex Kaye-Besley	....	third assistant director: splinter unit (2007)

Art Department
Graeme Bird	....	propmaker
Tony Boston	....	stand-by props
Simon Dalton	....	dressing props
Mick Flood	....	property master
Briana Hegarty	....	trainee art director
James Husbands	....	storyboard artist
Emer MacAvin	....	set decoration buyer
Owen Monaghan	....	stand-by props
John Porter	....	dressing props
Lucy van Lonkhuyzen	....	assistant art director

Sound Department
Peter Blayney	....	sound re-recording mixer
Michelle Cunniffe	....	sound re-recording mixer
Theo Green	....	sound designer
Theo Green	....	supervising sound editor
George Hapig	....	foley artist
Alex Hudd	....	sound consultant: dolby
Karl Merren	....	sound recordist
Conor O'Toole	....	boom operator
Hallam Smallpeice	....	sound editor
Michael Wabro	....	pre-mix recordist
James Wichall	....	assistant sound
Peter Gleaves	....	adr mixer (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Kevin Byrne	....	special effects supervisor
Paul Mann	....	special effects supervisor
Kevin Nolan	....	special effects technician

Visual Effects by
Assen Balkanski	....	previsualisation
Giuliano Cavalli	....	compositor
Matt Chin	....	3D artist
Justin Cornish	....	visual effects supervisor
Michael Deming	....	digital film bureau
Andy Foot	....	rotoscoping/clean-up
Steve Hawken	....	compositor
Henrik Jonsson	....	3D artist
Gnana Kannan	....	rotoscoping/clean-up
Anthar Kharana	....	lead compositor
Brooke Lyndon-Stanford	....	visual effects supervisor
Allison Moore	....	compositor
Allison Moore	....	digital effects artist
Oliver Murray	....	lead 3D artist
Tony Neal	....	matte painter
John Palmer	....	digital film bureau manager: Scanning and Laser record
Rob Pizzey	....	digital colourist
Alexandru Popescu	....	digital matte painter
Jorge Quinteros	....	roto master
Tsahi Reznick	....	3D artist
Vahid Tehrani	....	3D artist
Hannah Walker	....	camera tracker

Stunts
Anthony Condren	....	stunt performer
Joe Condren	....	stunt coordinator
Norman Kelly	....	stunts

Camera and Electrical Department
Robert Barlow	....	key grip
Ian Barwick	....	gaffer: UK
Amy Breen	....	camera trainee
Fionn Comerford	....	first assistant camera
Matt Fisher	....	Steadicam operator
Matt Fisher	....	camera operator: "b" camera
Robert Hallinan Flood	....	camera trainee
Ang Richards	....	second assistant camera: UK
Dan Thomas	....	best boy: UK

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Anna Collins	....	costume trainee
T.K. Lang	....	wardrobe supervisor (as Ken Lang)

Editorial Department
Rob Gordon	....	additional on-line editor
Emily Greenwood	....	digital on-line editor
Erin McGookin	....	digital intermediate producer
Richard Smither	....	assembly editor
Laurent Treherne	....	digital intermediate technical director

Music Department
Ruth Chan	....	music preparation
Marcia Crayford	....	orchestra leader
Theo Green	....	composer: background music
Hilary Skewes	....	musician contractor
Tony Stanton	....	music preparation
Benjamin Wallfisch	....	conductor
Benjamin Wallfisch	....	orchestrator
Alison Wright	....	music supervisor: Air-Edel

Transportation Department
Gay Byrn	....	driver: props
Paul Cullen	....	transportation captain
Neil Ferris	....	driver: London

Other crew
Lisa Byrne	....	assistant production coordinator
Aoife Cassidy	....	production coordinator
Dermot Cleary	....	location manager
Grant Cummings	....	location manager
Sarah Golding	....	script editor
Richard Hill	....	location trainee
Dan Hillsdon	....	assistant accountant
Rachel James	....	post-production accountant
Timothy P. Jones	....	digital imaging
Catherina Ren Knerr	....	assistant: actor: brian cox
Greg Mcmanus	....	production coordinator: UK
Barry Newman	....	assistant location manager
Marie-Celine O'Reilly	....	extras coordinator
Lorraine Turley	....	assistant to producer

Production Companies

• Picture Farm
• Parallel Film Productions

Distributors

• Cinéart (2009) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• IFC Films (2009) (USA) (theatrical)
• Cinéart (2008) (Belgium) (all media) (Benelux)
• Contender Entertainment Group (2008) (UK) (DVD)
• Frenetic Films (2008) (Switzerland) (all media)
• Front Row Distributors (2008) (Saudi Arabia) (all media)
• Haut et Court (2008) (France) (all media)
• LNK Filmes (2008) (Portugal) (all media)
• Lucky Red (2008) (Italy) (all media)
• Rialto Entertainment (2008) (Australia) (all media)
• Rosebud (2008) (Greece) (all media)
• Sandrew Metronome Distribution (2009) (Finland) (DVD)
• Sandrews (2009) (Sweden) (DVD)
• Sandrews (2009) (Sweden) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Senator Home Entertainment (2009) (Germany) (DVD)
• Vertigo Films (2007) (UK) (all media)

Special Effects

• Atomic Arts (visual effects)
• Team FX

Other Companies

• Kodak  motion picture film supplied by
• Media Safety  health & safety
• MovieScore Media  soundtrack

Runtime:

102 min

Country:

UK | Ireland

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Ireland:15A | UK:15 | Finland:K-15 | Australia:MA | Netherlands:16 | New Zealand:R16

Filming Locations:

Dublin, County Dublin, Ireland

Company:

Picture Farm

Trivia:

Director Rupert Wyatt revealed on the DVD commentary that Damian Lewis wore ladies underwear throughout filming.

Goofs:

Continuity: During the scene in which Perry receives a half-kilogram of cocaine from Batista, his cell-mate (Lacey) is first shown lying on the top bunk with his head on the pillow. In the following scene, when Perry turns to sit on the lower bunk, Lacey is shown leaning with his back to the wall.

Quotes:

Rizza: You know the one thing you've got going for you, Frank? You're too old to die young.

Soundtrack:

The Escapist

Sharply directed and intense, The Escapist is a triumph!

One of the best British movies I've seen in years, this has it all- a strong cast with Brian Cox turning in the performance of a lifetime - all restraint and pent-up frustration - a script that twists and turns and keeps you guessing and puzzling until the very end... and after! Grim and intensely atmospheric, the film develops into something quite unusual for the genre, and redeems its characters and even its battered viewers in the last act. It shows that a crime movie from the UK doesn't have to be all flash and swagger, it can have intelligence, sensitivity, originality. Take note, Mr Ritchie! The pace of the film, and in fact every shot and every noise, is choreographed and conducted by newcomer Wyatt with a fine balance of detail and speed. We don't need to know much about these characters: like in a real prison, they are keeping themselves to themselves. Motives are shadowy and allegiances are born of necessity. Cutting between the escape and the hatching of the escape plan makes us approach the film as a puzzle right from the start, and as the pieces fall into place, the final twist is set up perfectly. I'm looking forward to more work from the makers of this soon-to-be-Cult Movie.