Long, slow, boring and then suddenly totally compelling. I’m not sure why the first three-quarters of the film had to bore me to death, but somehow the last fifteen or twenty minutes totally made up for it.
Russell Crow plays John Brennan, a man who has a beautiful wife, a lovely child and an idyllic life. Suddenly, out of the blue, his wife is arrested for murder. She is convicted, and they run out of appeals. Then (and this is probably heading toward a spoiler alert) he decides that the only way he can life his life is to break her out of prison.
I grew to really hate the character of John Brennan, and wanted him to fail in everything he tried; yet in the final moments of the film, I couldn’t decide whether I wanted him or the police to succeed. I do not think this is a great film, yet it totally sucked me in. Perhaps it is better than it appears.
ireckonthat 