Escape at Dannemora (2018)

Directed by: Ben Stiller | 440 minutes | biography, crime | Actors: Benicio Del Toro, Patricia Arquette, Paul Dano, Bonnie Hunt, Eric Lange, David Morse, Jeremy Bobb, Michael Beasley, Calvin Dutton, Dominic Colón, Gregory Dann, Mike Speirs, Joshua Rivera

‘The Shawshank Redemption’, but in real life. For example, the escape of inmates Richard Matt and David Sweat from the Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora, New York, was dubbed by the American media. On the night of June 5-6, 2015, Matt and Sweat fled the maximum security prison through a self-dug corridor; two employees of the penitentiary had provided them with the necessary tools to achieve this. The men, sentenced for murder to 25 years to life and life, respectively, managed to stay out of the hands of the authorities for almost three weeks. The manhunt for Matt and Sweat and the investigation into their escape and the role of prison officers Joyce Mitchell and Gene Palmer in it reportedly cost about $23 million in total.

The escape is of course an ideal source of inspiration for filmmakers and after a television movie in 2017, Michael Tolkin (known for the screenplay by Robert Altman’s ‘The Player’, 1992) and Brett Johnson (the mastermind behind the TV series “Mad Men” ) a year later a miniseries for pay-TV channel Showtime (CBS), titled “Escape at Dannemora.” The direction is in the hands of none other than Ben Stiller, who received a script within two months of the actual escape, while the official report of the outbreak had not yet been made public. When New York Inspector General Catherine Leahy Scott did that a few months later, Tolkin and Johnson were able to work on a new script that depicted events as truthfully as possible. Stiller, like Ben Affleck, for example, is someone who comes out better behind than in front of the camera. He has over 25 years of experience as a director (with the most famous titles being ‘Reality Bites’ (1994), ‘The Cable Guy’ (1996), ‘Zoolander’ (2001), ‘Tropic Thunder’ (2008) and ‘The Secret Life or Walter Mitty’ (2013) on his record); nevertheless he rarely showed so convincing and visionary as in ‘Escape at Dannemora’.

This is probably (partly) due to the great cast that Stiller has at his disposal here. Not only Oscar winners Benicio del Toro (‘Traffic’, 2000) and Patricia Arquette (‘Boyhood’, 2014), but also Paul Dano – the typical actor of whom you can almost bet that he will also be with such a ‘ One coveted golden statue can show off – and David Morse guarantees high-quality acting. Arquette is the one most assertive here. She plays Joyce Mitchell, whom everyone calls Tilly, a worn-out woman of around fifty who manages the sewing workshop in the prison and thus has to deal with inmates Richard Matt (Del Toro) and Sweat (Dano, almost unrecognizable due to the necessary extra muscle mass he grew for this role). Tilly has been married to the somewhat dorky Lyle (Eric Lange, also excellent) for over twenty years, but dreams of escaping her sluggish life. She picks Sweat as her favorite and the two regularly go into a back room in the studio for the necessary carnal pleasure. The opportunistic Matt, tried and tested after years in jail, knows exactly who to negotiate with for which privileges. In particular, he maintains close contacts with guard Gene Palmer (David Morse). In exchange for a few paintings and drawings – Matt is quite artistically skilled – he gets alcohol, cigarettes and other perks.

The relationship between Sweat and Tilly doesn’t stay under the radar for long, of course, and it doesn’t take long before he gets kicked out of the sewing class. Much to the chagrin of Tilly, who has fallen in love with him. Here Matt, who has meanwhile come up with a plan to set up a relaxation through the corridors and tubing under the detention center, sees his chance: he uses Tilly’s desperation to not only get his money’s worth, but also to help her as to help them with the necessary tools to deal with the obstacles they encounter in their intended escape route. He even manages to persuade her that she is ready with a getaway car at the moment supreme. As the hour draws near to You, Joyce begins to doubt.

The character Tilly could have become a kind of caricature, but Patricia Arquette knows how to give her several layers, despite that strongly accentuated and accompanying appearance. We can imagine that she is tired of her boring, repetitive life in Clinton, NY. But how she then lets herself be taken in by the two prisoners is quite naive. That she certainly isn’t, we see in part six of this seven-part (or actually eight-part, since part seven is split into two episodes) miniseries, which focuses entirely on a crucial moment in the history of the three central characters. In any case, she is inscrutable and fickle and Arquette portrays her sublimely (she received a Golden Globe for this role, among other things). Del Toro portrays Richard Matt as an equally changeable character; in prison he looks calm, thoughtful, as if he has everything under control, but once outside he turns into a dangerous psychopath. Dano’s character is a lot more down to earth, more determined. He also only joins the escape plans when he can’t really get out of it anymore, but he goes for it completely. One of the best scenes is the start of part five, in which Dano (and Stiller) leads us through the intricate system of corridors in one take of about ten minutes: a visual tour de force that not only underlines Stiller’s skill, but also gives a picture of the complexity of the escape route and the painstaking work that Sweat has done to remove obstacles such as stone walls and all kinds of pipes.

You only need to google to see how the three protagonists of this remarkable history fared. That is why it is all the more clever that the makers of this miniseries manage to get you on the edge of your seat. Of course you can argue whether it was necessary to tell the story in eight hours (could it also have been done in four hours?), because especially parts three and four drag on a bit. It’s a good thing that ‘Escape at Dannemora’ can fully rely on a sublime cast, which you’ll gladly watch for a few extra hours, and a director who shows the best work of his career. Ben Stiller, let it act for what it is and focus completely on your work behind the cameras, that will make everyone happy!