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The show takes its time moving forward but its final two episodes are gripping.
The snake escape at dannemora series#
Stiller bathes the series in long and striking shots, as well as dousing the show in close-ups of its three leads. Sweat is the underdog of the group who silently works away in his cell when the lights go out, as Matt devotes more and more time to charming Tilly.
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Dano’s Sweat is still desperately trying to appeal his case, despite being ostracised by his family. Del Toro’s Matt is a former alcoholic and adjusted to life in prison with a casual charm, yet his volatile core bubbles beneath the surface. Similarly, Del Toro and Dano are brilliant. With prosthetics, contact lenses and significant weight gain, Arquette’s transformation is highlighted frequently but she is incredible: selfish and manipulative, confined to her life with Lyle, manipulated by Matt and Sweat, and fantasizing about a better life. Hollywood loves nothing more than when a well-known actress “frumps up” and Arquette is barely recognisable. When you have acting heavyweights like Arquette, Del Toro and Dano together, there isn’t going to be a bad performance in the bunch but, here, they are exquisite. Unlike most prison dramas that have preceded it, Escape at Dannemora showcases the dullness of prison life well and it is unsurprising as to why Tilly is the highlight of both men’s day. The only commonality between the three is that they all want out: Matt and Sweat out of prison, Tilly out of her mundane life. It takes its time and we grow to know the trio, Tilly especially, and you couldn’t have put a more diverse group of personalities together. The escape was so audacious that a screen adaptation was inevitable though, what is surprising is the show’s slow pace. He’s a good man left behind in Tilly’s wake. Then there’s Lyle ( Eric Lange)-Tilly’s husband and malleable victim-who also works at the prison. She was gaining the sexual gratification that she had always wanted. Or are they? Where the show succeeds in its first half is forcing you to question whether Tilly was aware of what Matt and Sweat were up to, or if she simply didn’t care.
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Both are vital to the equation but only two are aware of who’s manipulating whom. Matt, on the other hand, is lazy and refuses more often than not to help however, he is a master manipulator and, without him, Tilly would never have been on board. Sweat works tirelessly to exact his and Matt’s escape plan. source: Showtimeįrom The Great Escape to The Shawshank Redemption to Escape from Alcatraz, prison break dramas have never failed to highlight the painstaking aspects that an elaborate breakout involves and, Escape at Dannemora, is no exception. The sexual entanglement between Tilly, Matt and Sweat is fascinating to watch unfold and how manipulation and deceit between the three led to the escape in the first place. While the basis is on the true story of the Clinton Correctional Facility escape in 2015, which provoked a widespread manhunt, the prison break is the least interesting aspect of the series. Arquette stars as Joyce “Tilly” Mitchell, a seamstress working at a maximum-security prison who becomes entangled in a complicated love triangle between convicted killers, Richard Matt ( Del Toro) and David Sweat ( Dano).Ĭreated by Brett Johnson and Michael Tolkin and, in an interesting change of pace, Ben Stiller directs (in his TV-directing debut) and produces the entire show. Escape at Dannemora-based on the extraordinary true story dubbed “the Shawshank case” by the media-is a seven-part miniseries starring Patricia Arquette, Benicio Del Toro, and Paul Dano.