Escape At Dannemora

SHOWTIME | Release Date: November 18, 2018

7.5	USER SCORE Generally favorable reviews based on 14 Ratings

USER RATING DISTRIBUTION

Positive:

Mixed:

Negative:

Watch Now

Stream On

Buy on

Stream On

Expand

Review this TV Series

VOTE NOW

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Please sign in or create an account before writing a review.

Check box if your review contains spoilers

0 characters (5000 max)

User Reviews

User score By date Most helpful

HotelCentralApr 22, 2022

It's about two or three hours too long. It does nothing that hasn't been done too many times before. The sound effects and the music on top of the dialog forced me to turn on the subtitles or I wouldn't have understood half of what wasIt's about two or three hours too long. It does nothing that hasn't been done too many times before. The sound effects and the music on top of the dialog forced me to turn on the subtitles or I wouldn't have understood half of what was being said. And a great many scenes are so badly illuminated I couldn't see what was happening. And the musical interludes are endless.

All in all it's kind of a bore and I don't recommend it.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

All this user's reviews

JLuis_001Mar 28, 2021

I'm in actual disbelief this was made by Ben Stiller.
By far the most mature work he has ever done behind the cameras.
He get excellent performances from his actors, and gets to craft a solid drama that needs time and attention. It does getI'm in actual disbelief this was made by Ben Stiller.
By far the most mature work he has ever done behind the cameras.

He get excellent performances from his actors, and gets to craft a solid drama that needs time and attention.

It does get a bit out of hand with the length, and pacing at times it does becomes problematic, but it still represents a work that deserves to be seen, and Stiller makes it clear that he can do very serious things as a director.
He lacks polish, but this was much better than I expected.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

All this user's reviews

Bertaut1May 18, 2019

Overlong, but the acting is immense

As far back as the late 80s/early 90s, long before "long-form narrative" became the dominant mode of television storytelling, I was a fan of what would then have been called "non-episodic storytelling",Overlong, but the acting is immense

As far back as the late 80s/early 90s, long before "long-form narrative" became 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 (1986-1987) and David Lynch and Mark Frost's Twin Peaks (1990-1991). 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 shows stretching their stories 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 drama, the series is more interested in the psychology of the people involved. 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.

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), who was involved in a sexual relationship with both men.

Aesthetically, Dannemora is exceptional, with director of photography Jessica Lee Gagne's work especially laudable. In the opening scene of the fifth episode, for example, there's 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 and the extraordinary effort it took to get out. Also worth noting is that the series is shot in CinemaScope (2.40:1). This format is almost never used on TV, where everything tends to be shot 1.78:1 (Master of None is an exception), but Stiller and Gagne use the format magnificently, with the narrow frame confining the characters. Combined with shooting through windows and having the characters stand in doorways, the compositions visually signify that these people are fundamentally trapped, existentially if not literally.

From an acting perspective, Arquette is extraordinary. Yes, the physical transformation is laudable, but this is more than an impersonation. She plays Tilly as in a perpetual state of rage and resentment, a woman who feels she's entitled to more than she has. When we first meet her, her frustration levels with her husband Lyle (Eric Lange) are at breaking point, but in the sixth episode, 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. Arquette emphasises Tilly's naivete, leaning into her childlike quality; seen in the tendency for her voice to become shrill and nasally, and to start crying whenever challenged. 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. Dano focuses on Sweat's brilliant mind, playing him as calm and thoughtful, but prone to anger when things don't go his way. Lange plays Lyle as blinded by ignorance and loyalty, convinced that Tilly still loves him, and he can weather the current storm. Lange leans into Lyle's inability to see just how much he's being manipulated, abused, and ridiculed, with his adoration for Tilly never wavering. The show unquestionably depicts him as a simpleton, but Lange finds more depth in the part.

The problem with all of this, is the runtime, which is two or three hours too long. Yes, the deep dive into the characters' psychologies and backstory is fascinating, and the flashback episode is superb, but we didn't need five hours of context to get there, and at times, the plot seems to cease all forward momentum. It's never boring, but so much of it lacks 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 good 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 is, it's above average, saved by its cast and Stiller's fine direction, but it remains always a slog.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

All this user's reviews

TeslaBrownMay 14, 2023

is not a 10, because it was a real event. Series with visual contrasting, almost all kinds of styles, with great performances, good photography, editing and direction.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

All this user's reviews

Current TV Shows

By MetascoreBy User Score

1 92 The Pitt: Season 2

2 90 The Celebrity Traitors UK: Season 1

3 89 Rivals

4 87 Hacks: Season 5

5 87 Industry: Season 4

6 87 Genndy Tartakovsky's Primal:...

7 85 The Beatles Anthology

8 85 The Traitors [UK]: Season 4