I jumped for joy when Patricia won the Golden Globe! She's an amazing actress and deserves this award. So convincing as Tilly...she gave the character such complexity. I felt sorry for her at times, despised her at other times- such raw emotion that's not seen very often. Love Benicio and Paul's performances as well. I could easily watch this again.
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sandcurv7 January 2019
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Amyth477 December 2018My Rating : 8/10
I'm hooked. I found myself being sucked into this simmering prison break drama right off the bat and am really looking forward to this 7-hour movie unfold every week.
Great camera work, well-thought out storyline and interesting characters. Benicio Del Toro has always been an acting tour de force and this might end up being his best work yet. Impressive performances from Patricia Arquette and Paul Dano who have transformed themselves superbly for their roles. The real surprise for me and many others would be the directing chops of Ben Stiller. Props for giving this an honest treatment, choosing great filmmaking locations (shots of Dannemora, the prison, Malone, Plattsburgh, even the manhole that the prisoners escaped to, are all the actual locations) and the use of music adds a really nice touch to this prison break drama.
Looking forward to the next episodes and of course a thrilling series finale! My favourite moment so far is Benicio Del Toro's ferocious guttural warning to Patricia Arquette's character in Ep 3 - DON'T TELL ANYBOOOOODDDYYYYYY. Rewind and Rewatch x 10000000. -
mercedesmarrionn2 January 2019The structure of the script isn't familiar, it focuses on the core material and works on the details. Escape At Dannemora is not your usual prison escape case, it peels off the flesh with thorough analysis of the nature it thrives upon. Benicio Del Toro, Paul Dano, Patricia Arquette's performances push the series onto one of the best.
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billyweeds-124 December 2018Nothing Ben Stiller has ever done before or behind the camera could prepare you for the utter brilliance of his directorial achievement in this amazing series. His work with the actors is phenomenal, and his camera placement and movement is inspired. It's a thrilling series, with superb performances by all, with special mention for Patricia Arquette, who makes you completely get the double meaning of the title. Yes, the story is about a prison "escape." but it's also about Tilly (Arquette's character) trying to escape her dead-end existence. Memorable. Must-see. Award-worthy.
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handymandy7828 December 2018I remember when these guys busted out of prison. It was national news for weeks, and I didn't understand why. Yeah, two dudes broke out of prison... yeah, they had help on the inside... the help on the inside was sleeping with one or both of them, which was kind of weird, but whatever. I just didn't get the non-stop coverage of it UNTIL NOW. Clearly all the reporters and national news outlets on the ground knew all the wild details, but it was too complex, and frankly, too raunchy, to report.
Patricia Arquette is a genius. Her voice, mannerisms, etc. make her unrecognizable in this role. Her transformation into Joyce Mitchell rivals Charlize Theron's portrayal of Aileen Wuornos in "Monster." Same with Eric Lange. I was like "oh wait! It's THAT guy?" You totally forget you're watching actors you've seen in other work. Benicio Del Toro is super creepy and Paul Dano is all grown up. The entire cast is brilliant.
I've checked reports about the true story, and so far (I'm 6 episodes in) it seems to be extremely accurate. I didn't expect this kind of drama and intrigue out of Ben Stiller, the director. He killed it. Just give the cast and crew all the awards right now. And yes, I mean all of them.
So yeah, I get the media frenzy now. I'm just a few years late to the party. -
johan-3003719 November 2018In these times where raving reviews are just about everywhere, this is one of the solid few. Class A production all through. Reminds me of "The night of..". Very promising.
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perfectin7230 December 2018I will literally be looking for anything Ben Stiller directs from now on. Being from New York and knowing the story intimately already made me assume it wouldn't peak my interest. Boy, was I wrong!! Overall powerful performances made me want more and more. I recommend everyone see this!!!
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Bertaut18 May 2019As far back as the late 80s/early 90s, long before "long-form narrative" would become the dominant mode of television storytelling, I was a fan of what would then have been called "non-episodic storytelling", the best-known examples of which would have been Michael Mann's Crime Story (1986) and David Lynch and Mark Frost's Twin Peaks (1990). And for as long as I've admired long-form narrative, I've disliked episodic storytelling, especially shows where the events of a given week seem to have little-to-no bearing beyond that one week. The most egregious example I can think of is the fourth season episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987) (a serial offender in this respect), "Future Imperfect (1990)", in which one of the main characters adopts an alien, who was never to be seen or heard from again. So, with that in mind, in an era where long-form narrative has become the norm, I should be in my element. And I am. Except for one thing - "Netflix bloat"; essentially, the phenomenon of TV shows having their stories stretched too thin across too many episodes.
And so we have the otherwise excellent Escape at Dannemora, a four or five-hour story elongated to eight hours. Ostensibly a prison break genre piece, the series is more interested in the psychology of the people involved than in either of the two usual routes for such stories; triumphant escape or social commentary. Excellently directed and beautifully shot, with a quartet of astounding performances at its centre, the show tells a fascinating story, but it moves at a glacial pace that requires serious patience, and which doesn't offer much in the way of rewards (although the last two episodes are undeniably exceptional).
Written by Brett Johnson and Michael Tolkin, and directed by Ben Stiller, the series tells the story of the 2015 Clinton Correctional Facility escape, when Richard Matt (Benicio Del Toro) and David Sweat (Paul Dano) escaped the maximum security prison with the aid of civilian prison employee Joyce "Tilly" Mitchell (Patricia Arquette). The series begins the day after the escape, with Tilly already in custody, before jumping back several months to show how the escape came to be. A respected kingpin on the block, Matt is a man who can get anything you need, for a price. A talented artist, he is especially friendly with C.O. Gene Palmer (David Morse), who turns a blind eye to some of his shadier dealings. In the tailor shop where Matt works, Tilly, the shop supervisor, is engaged in a sexual relationship with Sweat, and is utterly contemptuous of her husband Lyle (Eric Lange), who works maintenance at the prison. When Sweat is moved to another wing, a lovelorn Tilly begins an affair with Matt, and when an oversight on Palmer's part leads to Matt learning an unused catwalk runs behind their cells, he forms an escape plan with Sweat. After busting through numerous walls, all they need to escape are tools to cut into a pipe. And so, promising Tilly that the three will escape to Mexico and live together, Matt persuades her to begin smuggling in what they need.
Aesthetically, Dannemora is exceptional, with director of photography Jessica Lee Gagné's work extremely impressive in matching form and content. In Part 2 (2018), for example, Gagné regularly shoots through bars and grids, up to the point where Matt begins to think of escape, then the shot composition becomes more open. Another good example is the opening shot of the superb Part 5 (2018); a nine-minute single shot following Sweat from his cell to the manhole which they will use to escape. The unedited format really sells the distance they have to travel, the size of the prison, and the extraordinary effort it took to get out. Also worth noting is that, very unusually, the series is shot in CinemaScope (2.40:1). This wide and narrow format is almost never used on TV, where everything tends to be shot 1.78:1 (Master of None (2015) is a notable exception). When filmmakers use 2.40:1 incorrectly (as they often do), it can come across as an affectation, an unjustified stylistic choice not derived from the content. Here, however, Stiller and Gagné use it magnificently, with the narrow frame serving to confine the characters. Combined with shooting through windows and having the characters stand in doorways, the precise compositions visually signify that these people (Tilly, Lyle, and Palmer included) are trapped no matter what they do; their lives are their prison.
From an acting perspective, Arquette's Tilly is extraordinary. Yes, the physical transformation is laudable, as are the accent and inflections, but this is far more than an impersonation - Arquette utterly inhabits the character in a similar manner to Charlize Theron as Aileen Wuornos in Monster (2003). She plays Tilly as someone in a perpetual state of rage, resentment, and frustration, a woman who feels that she's entitled to more than she has, and is consumed by her own unhappiness. When we first meet her, her frustration levels with Lyle are at breaking point, with everything he says getting under her skin. In Part 6 (2018), however, which flashes back to formative moments from the characters' pasts, we learn that Lyle himself was once the same kind of escape hatch for Tilly that Matt and Sweat are in 2015. This episode also demonstrates her cruelty; something which has been on the fringes of the character thus far. Here we see how deeply ingrained her malice is, using her young son Jerome as a pawn in a campaign of hatred against her first husband, Kenny Barrile (Charlie Hofheimer). Arquette emphasises Tilly's naïveté in her dealings with Matt and Sweat, leaning into the almost childlike quality she possesses; seen in the tendency for her voice to become shrill and nasally, and to start crying whenever challenged about anything, effectively throwing a tantrum. However, she never lets us forget that Tilly is hateful, disillusioned, and dangerous.
Del Toro plays Matt as a classic sociopath; externally calm, but inherently volatile, and in the flashback episode, we see the extent of his sociopathy. Bizarrely, he's also a big believer in the power of positive thinking, telling Sweat that if they want to escape badly enough, then it will happen. In terms of Sweat, Dano focuses on his brilliant mind, playing him as calm and thoughtful, slow and methodical in his movements, but prone to violent anger when things don't go his way.
Most reviews of the show have focused on this central trio, but Lange's portrayal of Lyle is just as strong. Playing him as a man blinded by ignorance and unwavering loyalty, he believes he's doing the right thing, that Tilly still loves him, and that he can weather the current storm. Lange leans into Lyle's inability (or refusal) to see just how much he's being manipulated, abused, and ridiculed, with his adoration for Tilly never wavering, no matter what she subjects him to. The show unquestionably depicts him as a simpleton, but Lange finds more layers in the part.
The relationship between Matt and Sweat is especially fascinating. Inside, Matt is very much the dominant figure. As soon as they get outside, however, and especially when they head into the Adirondack Mountains, Matt is completely out of his depth, with Sweat very much becoming the leader. The depiction of Dannemora itself is also thematically well-handled - the town is in decay, paint flaking off walls, streets deserted, shops empty. Both physically and figuratively dominated by Clinton, the prison employs the vast majority of the population, but although they get to go home at night, for many, they are almost as trapped as the inmates, certainly in an ideological sense. Economically, culturally, socio-politically, this is a dying town, and although Clinton is keeping it alive for now, Clinton is also responsible for its decay.
The problem with all of this, however, is the show's runtime, which is at least two, maybe three hours too long. Yes, the deep dive into the characters' psychologies and backstory is fascinating, and the flashback episode is superbly made and very interesting, but we didn't need five hours of context preceding it, and at times, the plot seems to lose all sense of forward momentum. It's never what you would call boring, it's just that so much of it lacks anything in the way of urgency or tension.
Ultimately, Escape at Dannemora is a brilliant piece of direction, with awe-inspiring performances. Although it gives us a lot of detail about the mechanics of the escape, it's far more interested in the mechanics of people. And in that sense, it's always interesting. It's also the latest piece of evidence that just because you can use eight or more hours to tell a story, doesn't necessarily mean that you should. As a five hour piece, this could have been sensational. As an eight hour piece, it's above average, saved by its cast and Stiller's fine direction, but it remains always a slog. -
mb-652-2316994 January 2019Couldnt turn it off. What a cast, it would have been wasted in a 2hr movie. Great characterization, supreme acting by all, with excellent cinematography and a perfect meandering soundtrack to match the mood. Thank you Ben Stiller for an exceptional piece of art.
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The acting performances are wonderful. The series is filled with amazing actors and actresses, and the performances are wonderful across the board. On top of that the cinematography is really stunningly done. This helps to give the story a remarkable look and feel through the seasons during which it is set.
Ben Stiller does many nice thing sin his direction. He approaches the story in an interesting way, and manages to direct his performers to incredible work (which is always a sign of skill, even when working with such talent).
However, my only complaint was almost enough to make me jump ship. The piece is entirely too long. Lasting over seven episodes of varying lengths, the pacing is so slow that it becomes almost unwatchable at times. While paying in-depth attention to scenes can be wonderful, Stiller did that with every scene and shot (from critical moments, to establishing shots). So, the story drags. What took almost eight hours, could have (and I believe should have) been told in four. I feel that he could have still told the story beautifully, and the viewing experience would have been enhanced, by a telling that featured an overall faster pace, that slowed down when critical to the tale. -
Nightmarelogic1 January 2019True stories are hard to fictionalize because they are true but at the same time you aren't writing a documentary. There is a certain amount of guess work not to mention acting and actors involved. This whole project is an example of taking an intriguing and thrilling story and doing it right from the start. Ben Stiller is a wonderful director and he made sure to be as true to the material as he could be.
This is the story of the 2015 jailbreak from the Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora New York by two murderers Richard Matt and David Sweat. This is a limited series that spans about 7-1/2 hours, 5 of them are focused on what it actually took to escape from a high security prison. Anyone who thinks that is too much time doesn't understand the lengths these two men went and how many hours and how much work they actually did put in to escape. The story is also about Joyce "Tilly" Mitchell a prison employee who became their accomplis.
This is an incredibly well acted and well told story that is bound to get Patricia Arquette who plays Tilly award nods. She was spectacular in it. If you like true to live retelling I would definitely recommend this -
pd78w30 April 2019The story would have been much more riveting had it not been stretched into seven episodes. The tension factor was diluted by too much unnecessary fill. A shame, because it distracted from the excellent job done by the actors. When an hour-long episode feels like two, something's not right. An interesting story despite all that, but the "5" rating reflects all the time that was killed for no obvious dramatic effect.
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SnoopyStyle27 January 2019This is based on the true 2015 Clinton Correctional Facility escape in upstate New York. New York State Inspector General Catherine Leahy Scott (Bonnie Hunt) interrogates prison worker Tilly Mitchell (Patricia Arquette) about her involvement in the escape. It flashbacks to the real story. Tilly is having sex with inmate David Sweat (Paul Dano). His fellow escapee Richard Matt (Benicio del Toro) is running his schemes by friending prison guard Gene Palmer (David Morse) for little necessities of comfort.
This is directed by Ben Stiller. The real Tilly disputes this portrait of the story. I do wonder if seven episodes is too long for the mini-series. It feels stretched out. The biggest issue may be the well known basic story. Like Titanic, the ending is a given. It is inevitable. The story doesn't have enough new things to keep driving the narrative at a swift pace. It's too leisurely. It is technically well made and Stiller has to be given credit. There is probably enough for three episodes at the most. More than that, the audience is left waiting for the end. -
MovieFan-9131930 December 2018Solid performances by some of my favorite actors. Music stays out of the way most of the time. Cinematography is appropriately bleak. But the pacing is just super, super slow. Thought the first episode was 2 hours long, then checked and it had a 59 minute run time. Stuck with it, but it's juts the same super slow pace. Not helped by the fact that each episode starts with a giant hint at what's coming, then we plod along for the rest of that chapter toward the conclusion we already know is coming.
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zacharyjwilcox18 November 20183 days ago, I attended the premiere screening of the first episode in Plattsburgh, NY, and I've been thinking about the show ever since.
The lead ensemble is excellent. Paul Dano as David Sweat is conflicted. He almost seems like he's really trying to be a "good" person, but what kind of guidance and support can he expect from his peers in the prison system? Richard Matt is calculating, you can tell he could go off the handle at any second. Patricia Arquette as Joyce "Tilly" Mitchell is absolutely perfect in her role as a middle aged woman unhappy with her marriage and becoming smitten with the idea of escaping to someone that she thinks will bring her more happiness. I wanted to say that she stole the show, but Paul Dano and Benicio Del Toro are just as great - there really are no weaknesses at all. I should also comment that the last two things that I saw Benicio Del Toro in were Avengers: Infinity War, and Star Wars: The Last Jedi. Both of those films saw Del Toro playing characters that were strange, very quirky. After those two (also enjoyable) films, it was fantastic to see him take this role and make a convicted murderer relatable on a human level, it was a joy to watch on screen. Paul Dano's David Sweat is a character that interests me because even though I live in Plattsburgh, David Sweat is the person that I heard least about in all of the press coverage when these events were actually happening. We all knew about Joyce Mitchell, and of course how things end with Matt, but I don't think David Sweat was personified nearly as much in the media, so I'm extremely excited to see how his story arc plays out. It's even more intriguing because director Ben Stiller was able to contact the real David Sweat in prison, giving this production a very real air of authenticity.
Continuing on with authenticity, it is extremely important to note that extreme efforts were made to replicate what really happened. This show was shot on location. The shots of Dannemora, the prison, Malone, Plattsburgh, even the manhole that the prisoners escaped to, are all the actual locations. Yes, the prison walls really do tower above the rest of the town, as shown in one of the opening establishing drone shots. Governor Cuomo was involved in shooting, as well as many locals who experienced these events first-hand. There were open casting calls in Plattsburgh for extras - hundreds of people showed up, and every single person got an audition. Not everyone was cast, but no one was turned away from an audition. Many of the people in this show really do live here. One excellent scene showed Tilly Mitchell and her husband discussing their weekend plans in the car. Her husband suggests taking her to Plattsburgh for the weekend, to which she responds, "Fancy". It's such a small moment, but the joke was purely for the North Country residents, (as none of us in Plattsburgh refer to Plattsburgh as 'fancy') and the entire theater laughed out loud. I believe this show doesn't single any of the residents out to look 'bad', it merely intends to capture the spirit of the people living in the North Country, and it does an excellent job.
Overall, this story is quite serious - the subject matter is gritty no matter how you slice it. However there are moments of levity that are unexpected in a prison show, but are very much appreciated. One way that this is accomplished is with the fantastic musical score. One of my favorite moments was a montage of prisoners working at sewing machines, while LunchMoney Lewis' 'Bills' played over the scene, a great nod to the fact that the prisoners are essentially slave labor. This is a serious show that is likely going to get pretty dark once the prisoners escape, but there are also (at least, in the first episode) moments of subtle humor that will pleasantly surprise you, without detracting from the experience at all. This is a show that you'll definitely enjoy watching, and then keep talking about it after it airs. Finally seeing this show after living through both the real-life events, and all of the buzz surrounding the filming is very satisfying. Ben Stiller has done an excellent job with Escape at Dannemora, and I'm very excited to see what he has for us next. -
helenweils23 November 2018I'm watching the first episode for the third time today. I am so impressed with the soundtrack and how effective each song is to each scene. Bravo Ben Stiller 🙏🏻 💜💜💜 So yeah, I'm so in. (I've also decided to never be incarcerated. Oh hell no!)
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dashtag123415 November 2018Just a while ago I finished the first episode at the world premiere of "Escape At Dannemora." It's very interesting. Ben Stiller does a really great job directing a serious drama with comedic effects about two inmates and a female prison guard. The episode I saw, which is a great introduction to the series, is beautifully shot and well acted, and well written. Patricia Arquette is really good in this, Benicio del Toro is such a great character and Paul Dano is such a fascinating character it's overwhelming of how damn good it is. It's an 8/10 because it has some pacing issues and makes the episode very centered on one character, which I guess is alright. I find it hard to believe that it is a 7-episode-series because it could be a feature film on its own, but it will be interesting to see where they go with this show and how they extend the story. I do also think the audio is a bit muffled and the pacing has problems, but the music is great and the whole feel of the show is just so good. I can't wait for the show to premiere and for people to really enjoy this.
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markel-874971 January 2019To add to my original review now that I've seen all 7 episodes. My enthusiasm if anything is even higher for this remarkable show. I am simply astounded by the layers of meaning that Patricia Arquette finds in the character of Tilly. And as the series went on, the brilliance of Paul Dano's acting comes to the fore. Talk about the deck being stacked against you. Dano shows us the agony of man who knows that life is cruel and unfair and there's nothing he can do about it. A great tragedy for our time. My one complaint is the music, it gets in the way.
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boneheadbobo3 December 2018The darkness of the prison areas is a little troubling .But the acting is great .Benicio Del Toro has a face that just captivates the camera . I have a normal size TV so it may be better on a big screen .I often use the caption feature to be able to understand all the dialog on others shows too . But I think it's worth the effort to watch . And seeing the ugly winter climate of upstate NY makes me gad I live in a much milder place .
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annlevtex29 December 2018It was only after watching an episode of this series that I remembered the real incidents on which it was based. I told my husband it had happened only a few years ago, and people had been told to stay in their homes because these guys were dangerous. He thought to had been years earlier, but no. Having just watched the latest episode that includes flashbacks of the escapees' lives before their prison time, I only now appreciate just how well directed it is. First, the setting is authentic and believable. I spent the first half of my life in the Northeast (the cold. northern, often economically depressed part) , and though I am not that familiar with this particular area, it all rings true to me. The casting is perfect, and the acting top notch. Most seem to focus on Del Torro and Arquette for praise, and though both are excellent, I am most drawn to Paul Dano's performance. He is so quietly brilliant at what he does that it almost escapes notice. Sorry....I didn't even intend that pun. It is slow, and quiet, in a way, but to the characters involved, it all feels urgent and tense and on the edge. And it draws me into the drama. To me the pacing is ideal from a directing and dramatic standpoint. And the way it kind of reflects the landscape and sense of place, the pace of life outside the prison walls, seems well considered. Maybe it wasn't even intentional, but it works.
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snrs200916 June 2019I realize I'm in the minority here but I really wanted to like this due to the stellar cast and Ben Stiller and the story and all that. But I found myself bored quite often during the series and wondering if they could just "hurry it up"! The acting is top notch but the pace is way too slow. Almost like Stiller was asked to create a 7 part series and he decided to stretch what could have been completed in 3 or 4 episodes.
I recently watched Chernobyl and kept comparing it to this. Chernobyl takes its time but also maintains pace to keep you riveted always. This one doesn't and force you to sit thru laborious sex scenes, back stories, side stories etc. that often feel quite unnecessary and does nothing to move the narrative forward.
At the end it does some things well. The prison setting and the workings of it are captured well. Del Toro and Dano are in good form. Patricia Arquette is convincing in her role. David Morse is dependable as always. The actor playing Arquettes husband draws sympathy towards his character. If only they had a more competent editor, this could have been a compelling series. -
cindymorenosa25 December 2018From a Plattsburgh resident, currently loving it, Benicio Del Toro is amazing in this role. He has the hardened felon look and demeanor to a science. Very well done, don;t think it's drawn out at all, but I didn't get to watch the 7 episodes back to back.
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dawnlscherer19 April 2019First of all, Patricia Arquette was sooooo stellar! I don't know how someone so endearing could play someone so unlikeable, but she nailed it. My issue with the series is I felt it was an hour or two longer than it needed to be. ..Lots of long dramatic stares and whatnot. I definitely didn't need the play by play of every chisel stroke in the tunnel. In episode 6, did you really need to give a backstory on a cop you were going to kill 4 minutes later? I felt that too much time was spent on certain things, and then other important aspects of the story were just grazed over. That being said, it is still a very interesting, well-acted mini series.
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southdavid18 January 2019Performances to admire in this lauded drama, but for my money lacking in genuine drama to justify the length.
Patricia Arquette plays Tilly Mitchell, adding a sense of thrill to her dull marriage by having an affair with David Sweat (Paul Dano) an inmate at the New York State Prison that Tilly is working at. When rumours of the affair cause David to be reassigned, his friend from the neighbouring cell Richard Matt (Benicio Del Toro) sees an opportunity to exploit the woman boredom and desperation to assist him with his plan to break both himself and David out.
It really is a stunning central performance from Patricia Arquette. Fearless in both how unappealing she's prepared to let the character be and how unflattering she's prepared to look. Personality wise, Tilly is almost without redemption. She's a serial adulterer, blunt and sarcastic but without the wit to make her funny for an audience. She's also, as you might not imagine, fully committed to the escape plan and not exploited by either of the prison lifers that she enjoys a not particularly appealing looking series of liaisons with. It's truly spellbinding. She's not alone. Dano and Del Toro both do fine work too, though their characters are distinctly less interesting. Eric Lange is the only one really approaching Arquette though, it's quite a transformation for him to play Lyle Mitchell - Tilly slack jawed and painfully loyal husband.
The story though doesn't match the performances it pulls from its stars. It's sadly all fairly pedestrian in that regard and the series has to pad an awful lot to stretch the run time to the eight hours of the mini-series. So unnecessary flashbacks are provided, some scenes run on endlessly and character relationships are retread again and again, even though you understood them from the outset.
I'm honestly not sure whether the strength of the performances outweigh the slog of getting through the series.