No Escape:
In their new overseas home, an American family soon
finds themselves caught in the middle of a coup, and they frantically look for
a safe escape from an environment where foreigners are being immediately
executed.
Director: John Erick Dowdle
Writers: John Erick Dowdle,
Drew Dowdle
Stars: Lake Bell, Pierce
Brosnan, Owen Wilson
Storyline:
When Jack (Owen Wilson) finds an opportunity to
move to Southeast Asia to head his water manufacturing company's new plant
there, he immediately jumps at the opportunity and moves his family there. When
they get there; they seem to be having problems, the electronics don't work and
rarely any cars are seen in the streets. When he goes to the market the next
morning, he finds himself caught in the middle of a violent rebellion headed by
armed rebels executing foreigners. Jack must get back to the hotel and with the
help of a mysterious British "tourist" (Pierce Brosnan), must get his
family to the American Embassy in the midst of the chaos. But is there any
escape?
Movie Reviews:
Fulfilling entertainment with slickly (and clearly)
edited action
John Erick Dowdle's "No Escape" is a taut
thriller, nicely edited and strongly paced, resulting in a film that knows
exactly how to get your adrenaline up and your movie-going senses tingled. Dowdle
has been a strong force in the horror genre ever since his seldom-seen, largely
unreleased debut "The Poughkeepsie Tapes" came onto the scene in
2007. Since then, Dowdle has proved his ability to direct claustrophobic
thrillers such as "As Above, So Below" and "Devil,"
solidifying his filmography as dynamic and rounded, especially for a
horror/thriller director.
"No Escape" is his most mainstream
project to date, with a bigger scale than his previous films and bigger stars
as well. Set in Southeast Asia, we focus on Jack (Owen Wilson), his wife Annie
(Lake Bell), and their children Lucy and Breeze (Sterling Jerins and Claire
Geare), who are moving to Asia for Jack's new job. Not long after being in the
land, Jack's morning walk to get a newspaper results in him racing back to his
hotel, following an all-out war between law enforcement and natives in the
cluttered streets. Riots, looting, and inexplicable violence break out in the
streets and Jack and his family must find a way to Vietnam where they can declare
asylum. They seek out the help of Hammond (Pierce Brosnan, who provides darkly
comic relief in many scenes), a skilled survivalist who is seen traveling on
the plane with them to Asia, who assists in finding them temporary places to
stay amidst all the madness.
Assertions have flown over the alleged
"racism" of "No Escape"'s story, due to the negative
portrayal of Asian natives and the constant danger and sanctity of this white
family being challenged, in addition to being the prime concern, throughout the
course of this picture. I bring this up not to challenge the position, for it
is somewhat valid, but how come films like "Taken," which is
operating on the same playing field as this film, isn't as slammed as this film
is? Was that picture just too entertaining for the subtext to be noticed, or
were we too distracted by Liam Neeson in that film to really care?
"No Escape," however, can claim more than
"Taken" can as film because "No Escape"'s strengths come in
the regard of its editing and camera-work, two things I was worried about
walking into this film. Chaotic action films like these are ripe for sloppy
aesthetics, which can, in turn, ruin any ability to see the action, let alone
really care about what is happening to the characters. Dowdle and editor Elliot
Greenberg are smart about how they shoot and edit this film, never settling for
anything other than shots and editing tactics that allow for immersion and
clear placement for the audience. In addition, Greenberg's editing provides
some elements of structural pacing, which work to "No Escape"'s
favor, especially during the more chaotic scenes.
The only element that subtracts from what "No
Escape" does so uniformly well with its aesthetics is the convenience of
the plot. Throughout the film, characters are put in compromising positions,
including one scene at the end that comes so close to making this film great
and almost entirely amoral, but finds ways through miraculous scenarios to get
them out of harm's way in the nick of time. This ostensibly comes from writers
John Erick and Drew Dowdle's dueling desire to up the film's stakes but
simultaneously back down and not make things too drastic. For as heartless as
some scenes of the film can be, it would've only been fitting to see some of
the more serious, morally corrupt scenarios to follow through.
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