Released Year: 2010
Directed by Paul Haggis
Casted by:
Russell Crowe as John Brennan
Elizabeth Banks as Lara Brennan
Brian Dennehy as George Brennan
Lennie James as Lieutenant Nabulsi
Elizabeth Banks as Lara Brennan
Brian Dennehy as George Brennan
Lennie James as Lieutenant Nabulsi
Story:
Lara Brennan is convicted of murdering her boss after an altercation at work and after a trial is sentenced to life in prison. Following the failure of her appeal, Lara's husband John Brennan, a professor at a community college, becomes obsessed with the idea of breaking her out of jail, while their son Luke ceases to acknowledge her during their prison visits.
John consults Damon Pennington, a former convict who successfully escaped from prison seven times. Damon advises John to study the prison where his wife is, saying "every prison has a key". Damon also warns him that the initial escape from the prison will be easy compared with avoiding capture after the escape. To that end, John must obtain false passports, new social security numbers, and a "truckload of cash" to have a chance of success. Damon also suggests going to an unpopular foreign country for Americans so that authorities will be unlikely to look for them there. John learns Pittsburgh's time to lock-down the city's exits after a call is made to do so: 15 minutes for the city center and 35 minutes for all interstates, secondary roads, and stations or airports. Damon Pennington tells John to ask himself if he can really "be that guy" who knocks over an old lady or shoots a guard if it's the difference between escape or getting caught.
John contemplates several ideas that do not pan out and is defeated more than once, but he latches onto a solid plan and the necessary paperwork after some painful efforts. He robs a drug lord and sets his meth lab on fire before fleeing the scene. He then falsifies and plants blood work results indicating that his wife is in a state of hyperkalaemia, so she is transferred to the hospital. He follows the ambulance and helps her escape although she is doubtful and reluctant, motivated only by the idea of her son being without either parent.
With the police getting some lucky breaks, they are hot on John and Lara's trail through a series of chases. Throughout the film, John is shown assembling maps, photographs, notes, and other papers on a wall of his house. He tears them down and stuffs them into several garbage bags before leaving to rescue Lara, leaving one bag in the trash outside his home, and the rest in a dumpster some blocks away. As it turns out, he did this selectively to misguide the detectives regarding their final destination. They have an uncomfortable moment at passport control, as a Canadian officer examines their passports and glances at the page of photographs showing people to stop. He allows them to pass. The shift changes, and as they walk down the hall, their photos are added to the list. An international flight is delayed, but the police were after the wrong destination.
At the end of the film, the family ends up safe in Caracas, Venezuela. Back in the United States, a detective who had attempted to catch Brennan returns to the scene of the crime although it had been some years since the crime occurred. Using his forensic skills, he manages to put together what really happened. It turns out that the killer of Lara's boss was really just a mugger—as she claimed in open court—and a series of coincidences led to Lara's conviction. He remembers Lara saying a button popped off as she passed the mugger, and notices that it is raining just as it had been the night of the murder. He tosses a piece of paper in the current where the button would have fallen off, and it leads into a gutter. He searches the gutter but is unable to find the button to prove Lara's innocence. It turns out the button was there, buried under grime, and the detective just missed it. The last shot of this detective shows him turning back to think, implying that there is a possibility of him taking a second look and locating the button, which would've led to the exoneration of Lara. However, that is left open to audience speculation.
John consults Damon Pennington, a former convict who successfully escaped from prison seven times. Damon advises John to study the prison where his wife is, saying "every prison has a key". Damon also warns him that the initial escape from the prison will be easy compared with avoiding capture after the escape. To that end, John must obtain false passports, new social security numbers, and a "truckload of cash" to have a chance of success. Damon also suggests going to an unpopular foreign country for Americans so that authorities will be unlikely to look for them there. John learns Pittsburgh's time to lock-down the city's exits after a call is made to do so: 15 minutes for the city center and 35 minutes for all interstates, secondary roads, and stations or airports. Damon Pennington tells John to ask himself if he can really "be that guy" who knocks over an old lady or shoots a guard if it's the difference between escape or getting caught.
John contemplates several ideas that do not pan out and is defeated more than once, but he latches onto a solid plan and the necessary paperwork after some painful efforts. He robs a drug lord and sets his meth lab on fire before fleeing the scene. He then falsifies and plants blood work results indicating that his wife is in a state of hyperkalaemia, so she is transferred to the hospital. He follows the ambulance and helps her escape although she is doubtful and reluctant, motivated only by the idea of her son being without either parent.
With the police getting some lucky breaks, they are hot on John and Lara's trail through a series of chases. Throughout the film, John is shown assembling maps, photographs, notes, and other papers on a wall of his house. He tears them down and stuffs them into several garbage bags before leaving to rescue Lara, leaving one bag in the trash outside his home, and the rest in a dumpster some blocks away. As it turns out, he did this selectively to misguide the detectives regarding their final destination. They have an uncomfortable moment at passport control, as a Canadian officer examines their passports and glances at the page of photographs showing people to stop. He allows them to pass. The shift changes, and as they walk down the hall, their photos are added to the list. An international flight is delayed, but the police were after the wrong destination.
At the end of the film, the family ends up safe in Caracas, Venezuela. Back in the United States, a detective who had attempted to catch Brennan returns to the scene of the crime although it had been some years since the crime occurred. Using his forensic skills, he manages to put together what really happened. It turns out that the killer of Lara's boss was really just a mugger—as she claimed in open court—and a series of coincidences led to Lara's conviction. He remembers Lara saying a button popped off as she passed the mugger, and notices that it is raining just as it had been the night of the murder. He tosses a piece of paper in the current where the button would have fallen off, and it leads into a gutter. He searches the gutter but is unable to find the button to prove Lara's innocence. It turns out the button was there, buried under grime, and the detective just missed it. The last shot of this detective shows him turning back to think, implying that there is a possibility of him taking a second look and locating the button, which would've led to the exoneration of Lara. However, that is left open to audience speculation.
L² Scored: 8/10
L² Comment:
L² Comment:
Though the critics for this movie is not a "perfect" during that time, but for me, this is a good thriller movie. Love the part when Crowe started to take the first step to save his wife by placing his son in a party, there onwards, i get so tense. My heart beat so fast each time they escaped and each time they almost get caught. Things get so excited until they finally are safe in Venezuela. But the pace of the movie cause a lot of viewer feel bored...
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