Escape from Pretoria, 2020
Directed by Francis Annan.
Starring Daniel Radcliffe, Ian Hart, Daniel Webber, Nathan Page, Mark Leonard Winter, and Adam Ovadia.
SYNOPSIS:
Based on the real-life prison break of two political captives, Escape from Pretoria is a race-against-time thriller set in the tumultuous apartheid days of South Africa.
Escape from Pretoria follows two political activists sentenced to the titular prison for bombastically distributing leaflets around 1970 South Africa protesting against apartheid, intriguingly setting up a jailbreak experience that is centered on good-intentioned humans that are organically easier to cheer on (even if it’s usually easy to stand in the corner of the protagonist in these kinds of movies regardless of morality). What’s frustrating is that director Francis Annan (collaborating with a couple of screenwriters and adapting the book based on the tour events written by the actual mastermind of the breakout, Tim Jenkin) doesn’t seem to be concerned with approaching the storytelling from that angle, instead settling for generic prison escape tropes and relatively tension-free plotting that eventually gets dragged down by repetitiveness.
Played by Daniel Radcliffe for this true story adaptation, Tim and his friend Daniel (Stephen Lee) are quickly arrested following their public protest and defiant actions, soon after making the acquaintance of fellow inmates Denis (Ian Hart) and Frenchman Leonard (Mark Leonard Winter), with the former having a revered reputation for consistently taking a stand against apartheid. Nevertheless, even with his hatred for the situation in South Africa and especially the brutal and dehumanizing tactics employed by the prison guards, he’s shaky about the possibility for these three men being able to successfully make a getaway. To be fair, his reasonings are grounded in strong logic.
Tim and his cohorts don’t just have to get beyond the doors of their own cells, but beyond multiple doors across the winding hallways of Pretoria inevitably leading to the front door which is a challenge in itself to unlock. Thrown in for good measure along the way is an electronic door that the activists must also find a way to workaround. What ensues is Tim (who appears to be skilled at woodshop and carving) studying the insides of the keyholes at night while stealthily spending certain times of the day crafting makeshift wooden objects that resemble keys, therefore able to trigger the unlocking mechanism. Watching Tim display over a year’s worth of time and dedication to analyzing these locks and making keys is certainly admirable, but after cracking the second lock or so the formula becomes tiresome. More importantly, it’s all at the cost of sacrificing actual character development for not only these political activists but the politics of 1970 South Africa.
Strangely enough, one of the best scenes in Escape from Pretoria doesn’t even involve Tim, but rather Leonard and a moment where his child comes to visit him through a glass window. It’s a simple exchange expressing how long it will be before Leonard will be free from the penitentiary and able to see his son again, but it’s also done well dramatically with great dialogue and emotion. It’s an out of place segment that otherwise adds more investment to these characters as people than anything else aside from the prologue. It’s also a testament that these characters probably would be interesting if the script wanted to explore them more.
As far as the production design goes, everything outside appropriately feels the 70s whereas the prison has a grimy feel. Much of the sneaking around is done at night making for dark lighting that occasionally adds to the fear of getting caught, but there is also some challenging cinematography done from inside the keyholes which is a good creative decision to better express that barrier of what’s next to come for the escape. Meanwhile, Daniel Radcliffe has some killer sideburns and humongous glasses that basically scream the 1970s.
Unfortunately for director Francis Annan, he makes the mistake that painting these characters as symbols of resistance from the beginning is enough to make them likable and their plight engaging from the get-go, but that’s really not the case. You will want these characters to escape, but not necessarily because you hate the guards and are on the edge of your seat hoping that they can make it out alive. No, it’s more so that one doesn’t have to watch more and more keys get made. At one point Tim mentions that they have made 39 keys for 15 different locks, and I was unsure whether to applaud their resistance and commitment or laugh at the movie expecting me to find the same thing over and over again intense and entertaining.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★
Robert Kojder is a member of the Chicago Film Critics Association and the Flickering Myth Reviews Editor. Check here for new reviews, friend me on Facebook, follow my Twitter or Letterboxd, check out my personal non-Flickering Myth affiliated Patreon, or email me at MetalGearSolid719@gmail.com
