I knew nothing of this film before watching it on DVD.
Not to be confused with the 1979 horror/slasher of similar name. It is a British prison drama centring on one man and based on real life events with a central performance which is quite impressive - Iain Glen. The character is someone who is imprisoned for an utterly senseless murder which we see in flashback. The whole film plays like a shuffled series of snapshots/flashbacks of past events. There is no overt explanation, no clear suggestion of causality and no excuses or reasoning spoon-fed to you.
The murderer is clearly pretty damaged but is intelligent. We are shown some humour and strong but dysfunctional family relationships. He is a violent man but also experiences brutality by the guards and is a heavy abuser of drugs. He interacts more warmly and intelligently at times. He is certainly not a character you end up liking but there are aspects to him that make it seem like he may not be wholly beyond any form of redemption. Neither he nor the prison staff are painted as all good or all bad.
This is less difficult to watch (and more cerebral) than something like "Scum." There is some sense of empathy with the murderer in that we are encouraged to think about the justification of locking someone in solitary confinement for long periods and the value of brutalising or mistreating people and leaving them hopeless versus trying to rehabilitate them. For some of the film he ends up on a prison wing run as a democracy with a flattened hierarchy between prisoners and staff. This was apparently a real project.
There is not much plot so the non-linear nature of it with flashbacks and memories helps hold your interest. At times it can be unclear whether the events are true memories or imaginings and we are placed very much inside the perspective of the main character so it is not clear if we are seeing accurate events or just his version. The overall structure does have a plot device to hang on. Without spoilers I can't really give any more comment about the structure and plot.
Overall it feels a bit like a TV play and feels older than a 1990 film. Runtime is short at 85 minutes and it holds you for that. It feels gritty and realistic and the structure contributes to the feeling that many of the events are basically senseless and without explanation. It leaves you as an observer invited to think a bit rather than trying to explain, preach or teach.
Worth a look.
