Strange contradiction


I usually have a real problem with films that stray from realism unless it's done deliberately - for jarring effect or to create a carefully-crafted universe.

This one started off badly for me: there seemed to be more holes than plot. A stupidly Dickensian prison, prison officers walking round alone, the weird 'blokes in their undies' sequence...

And yet not long into the film, the sheer energy and conviction of it changed everything. Like Pirates of the Carribean or any decent ghost story, you were pulled into a world that had its own rules, and that was all the more gripping as a result.

Any thoughts?

reply

I agree the prison atmosphere was really inauthentic. Prisoners able to open and close their own doors for example. It definitely felt like one of those movies that is written purely from imagination, with no research at all done besides what the screenwriter could remember from other movies. He even quotes Shawshank word for word at one point. This movie pretty much sums up why I don't care for this generation of filmmakers. They are fans more than they are creators. Everything is trying to be something the director/writer already saw. This movie felt like a collage of other better movies.

reply