Tina and I have been watching and enjoying Escape at Dannemora - first three episodes - and I thought I'd check in with a review.
It's a docudrama, based on real events, that occurred when we were up on Cape Cod in June a few years ago. Prison breaks make for good movies and TV series, especially when they're based on real escapes, and Escape at Dannemora doesn't disappoint. Richard Matt and David Sweat are the inmates who have nothing to lose, and seduce Tilly Mitchell who works at the prison into having sex with them (at this point, it's not yet a threesome) and helping them escape. Or, to be more precise, the seduction is sort of mutual, and at first she doesn't know the tools she's smuggling into them are being used to cut through walls. Matt's a painter, and he tells he needs the tools to make picture frames,
The acting is superb. Patricia Arquette as Mitchell is different from her usual roles and outstanding. Same for Benicio Del Toro as Matt, who never disappoints. Paul Dano as Sweat is good, too. What makes the story so compelling is that Matt and Sweat, against all odds, manage to pull of the escape. That much I remember from the news, and remembering it doesn't weaken watching the series in the slightest.
There's a lot more to be told. I recall the ending in reality, but not exactly how Matt and Sweat and Mitchell get there. I'll be watching the rest of this, and the great upstate New York scenery, with great interest. It's a lot more fun learning about an actual prison break when it's a finely crafted docudrama, rather than seeing it played out on the night news. I'll see you here next week, and let you know how it goes.
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