In my summary, I say not to watch this film unless you he two and a quarter hours to spare. That's because I made the mistake of starting the film around midnight--intending to only watch a few minutes and then go to bed. However, at almost 2:30am, I was still awake--ratcheted to the TV screen watching "Brubaker" until its exciting conclusion.
The film is essentially the experiences of Tom Murton as warden of a hellish prison in Arkansas--although unlike the movie, he did NOT enter the prison disguised as a prisoner. The horror of it all is what makes this very compelling viewing--and a film you should NOT let your kids watch. Rather vivid depictions of beatings, rapes and other violence against the prisoners (mostly by other prisoners) make this tough viewing--and the viewer should think about this first. Now this is NOT a criticism--the harsh language and violence is necessary to adequately show the horrible conditions existing in this prison in the 1960s. In many ways, it's much more horrific than "The Shawshank Redemption"--and unlike this Stephen King story, "Brubaker" is true. Corruption on a massive scale and the state's unwillingness to reform make this a very compelling movie.
Excellent acting by the ensemble cast make this an amazing movie to watch. And, not surprisingly, Robert Redford is his usual exceptional self. The only negative is that despite a great story and acting, the direction and editing are poor. An egregious example is late in the story. One of the trustees escape during a rain storm and is being tracked down by Brubaker and some other trustees. However, as they track him down there is dust everywhere and no trace of rain---talk about sloppy! Still, this is a minor technical quibble and the film is one of the best prison films I have seen.
