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?