Directed by Frances Annan
Written by Frances Annan and L.H. Adams based on the book by Tim Jenkin
Starring Daniel Radcliffe, Daniel Webber, Mark Leonard Winter and Ian Hart
MPAA rating: PG-13 for violence, language and some disturbing material
Running time: 1 hour and 46 minutes

by Ian Hrabe

It’s hard to think of a cinematic formula that works better than the prison escape movie. You take some scrappy dudes, you put them in a jail cell and you watch them use the meager means at their disposal to get one over on the villainous guards. They don’t always succeed, but the subgenre is perfect for highlighting the human spirit and the lengths those in captivity will go to reclaim their freedom. The Grand Illusion, The Great Escape, Le Trou, Stalag 17, The Shawshank Redemption, Down By Law and A Man Escaped are all classic escape movies that come to mind, and classics in any genre for that matter. Frances Annan’s Escape From Pretoria deserves a spot alongside those films and, while that is high praise, this is a damn fine film. 

Escape From Pretoria opens with activists Tim Jenkin (Danielle Radcliffe) and Stephen Lee (Daniel Webber) being arrested by South African authorities for distributing anti-Apartheid leaflets in 1978. We know these guys as free men for all of five minutes before they are locked away in Pretoria Central Prison for white men and spend the rest of the film fighting tooth and nail to escape and continue their fight against the despicable South African government. South Africa under Apartheid is one of those historical blind spots for a lot of people and, while everyone knows Nelson Mandela, it’s interesting to see the resistance from another point of view. While telling the story of anti-Apartheid action from a white man’s point of view could wander into White Savior territory, the film does a great job establishing the solidarity among all members of the resistance, regardless of race, and what they were willing to sacrifice to achieve a democratic South Africa.

Locked up alongside Jenkin and Lee in Pretoria Prison is renowned anti-Apartheid activist and Mandela compatriot Denis Goldberg (Ian Hart) and French national Leonard Fontaine (Mark Leonard Winter). The political prisoners connect with each other and while Jenkin, Lee and Fontaine begin hatching their plot to escape. Goldberg argues the case for holding steady and resolutely serving their time. This presents an interesting rift and highlights the sacrifice made in the face of injustice. While there is limited character development, the cause these guys are fighting for almost serves as a stand in for the character work you usually need to make a film tick. In fact, the most fleshed out character in the film is Leonard Fontaine, and I’m not sure if he is even a real person. Where Jenkin, Lee and Goldberg all get a “Where Are They Now” bit at the end that biopics like to do, there isn’t one for Fontaine and, given the lack of information culled from a Google search, it’s fair to wonder if he is a composite character. Composite or not, Mark Leonard Winter imbues Leonard Fontaine with a wild energy that balances the more intense and methodical performances from Radcliffe and Webber. 

While the performances are all very good, director Frances Annan is who takes this film from good to great. The way he is able to consistently ratchet up tension is phenomenal. In scene after scene, you see that all it takes is for one tiny thing to go wrong and the boys will have their already long prison sentences extended or wind up “accidentally” falling down a flight of stairs or “accidentally” asphyxiating as the South African government did to so many activists fighting Apartheid. We’re talking Uncut Gems levels of tension here and, at times, Annan’s work feels like it would be more at home in a horror movie than a political thriller (which is a boon for this film). For all intents and purposes, this is Annan’s debut feature and he really leaves his mark on this one and I can’t wait to see what he does next.

On demand and in select theaters Friday, March 6th.