Some of you may or may not have seen oz, or for that matter some of you may or may not have had the unfortunate circumstances of arriving to a vacation retreat of concrete and beatings. However with that said this is a prison movie and a great one at that.
Forget shawshank this is oz in its purest form, you cant draw comparisons to this movie if you have seen the latter. Skin heads, mexicans, and black racial and gang segregation seems to be a commonplace in the more culturally diverse and maximum setting prisons. This of course has all to do with survival and has been the subject of many interesting sociology reports and studies.. however on to the movie..
Plot synopsis: Minor Spoilers..
A man with a family is the subject of a break-in, scared for the safety of his family's safety he does what any man-of-the-house would do.. get a fucking ball bat and get the faggot. The suspect flees the home after being chased by the man out to the yard, he reaches for something in his pocket and the man cracks his head like Barry Bonds trying for the home run record. However since the suspect was out of the house the man shouldnt had hit him and constitutes involuntary manslaughter. Much in vein with harvey dent's falling from grace in the dark knight this young man played by Stephen Dorff is subjugated to the violent world of being an inmate.
On the way to prison he witnesses a shanking of another inmate and in the whirlwind is thrown into the fray. Realizing death is not as good as a punishment as what the cops can give him anything he knows about what transpired is kept secret. As time passes another inmate portrayed by Val Kilmer ( great underused actor ) is transferred after instigating a riot in another prison and is assigned to the mans room. Things are said, fights are started, and friendships are formed. However they also have to deal with the corrupt and sadistic guard forces that run the prison and use them all in a gladiator type setting for their own personal amusement. He also has to contend with his wife and child as they struggle financially and in marriage. Circumstances that are out of his control, and things happen that start to give him the idea that his hope is futile and he will never see his family again.
Without giving any more away and keeping this article smaller I will say that movie has really great performances and for what dialogue exists is well-written. It is gritty, moving, depressing, and gives illusions of hope at the same time. yes this movie has some prison cliches but how can you make a prison movie about the things that happen in them all? it is how the story presents itself along with the dialogue and character interaction that seperates this movie into what I would give an A to.
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