Escape at Dannemora
2018
Original language: English
- drama
- crime
The story
The stranger-than-fiction account of a prison break in upstate New York in the summer of 2015, which spawned a massive manhunt for two convicted murderers who were aided in their escape by a married female prison employee with whom they both became sexually entangled.
What it’s like
Sun-bleached and sweaty, with muggy summer heat pressing on every frame: fluorescent corridors that hum over greyish concrete, dense green upstate woods, and cramped domestic rooms lit by flat afternoon light. Ben Stiller's direction keeps the camera close and patient, often holding on faces during long silences, while dark, wry humour surfaces in small, awkward moments. The tone is unsettled and a little absurd, a slow-building tension that feels like a low hum of anxiety rather than a series of jolts. Violence is occasional and brief, with some blunt, unsettling moments, and there are explicit sexual scenes that are frank rather than glamorous. Relationships are tangled and manipulative, and the performances carry most of the weight. It suits a late-night binge or a restless weekend when you want something tense, character-driven and morally murky, and it's best for viewers who don't need a neat resolution and can handle adult content.
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