![]() ![]() For the most part, Escape From Pretoria works well, but it’s a shame Annan didn’t take more time to dig into the ordinary men who made this extraordinary escape. Colleague David (Daniel Webber) is given so little depth he’s basically a glorified extra, despite being second on the bill. ![]() His life before prison is largely a mystery. We learn only the bare minimum about Jenkin and his motivations. Given the effectiveness of the escape scenes, it’s a pity there’s little character-work around them. His South African twang takes a few detours via Wales and north London, but it’s far from the shakiest on screen (Ian Hart, as a veteran protestor, gives us an accent from… we’re not exactly sure).ĭaniel Radcliffe and Daniel Webber in ‘Escape from Pretoria’. His big eyes turn in a hell of a performance. Radcliffe gets very little dialogue to work with – you don’t talk a lot while trying to evade detection – but his face tells us everything we need to know. It boils down to a lot of variations on the same sequence – a desperate game of hide and seek – but they’re all executed very well. As Jenkin loses keys, snaps keys, or struggles to find a hiding spot before the guards spot him, the soundtrack is heavy with panicked breathing and the scenes tightly edited to make you feel as jittery as possible. He ratchets up some very clammy tension as Jenkin perfects his methods. He chooses to focus on the mechanics of the escape, rather than the men escaping. Up-and-coming British director Francis Annan is straightforward in his approach. Based on the real-life prison break of two political captives, Escape from Pretoria is a race-against-time thriller set in the tumultuous apartheid days of South Africa. Even more absurdly, it works, though obviously not without complication. He’ll use those keys to unlock every door in the prison and walk out the front entrance. He will make wooden keys, copied from the originals by observing the guards using the keys each day and then, well, just giving it a go. In the film, Jenkin’s plan for escape is simple but absurd. He made sure he only spent a fraction of that time behind bars. Their actions involved nothing more violent than distributing pamphlets, but the government’s zero-tolerance stance on dissent meant Jenkin was given a 12-year sentence. He plays Tim Jenkin, one of a group of white South African men imprisoned for protesting against apartheid in the 1970s. Potter fans will likely enjoy seeing Radcliffe reunited on-screen with Philosopher’s Stone co-star Ian Hart as fellow prisoner Denis Goldberg, though this once again sees the actor move further away from the role that made him (here he pushes a metal tube up his backside on entering the prison – bonus points to the foley artist for the accompanying sound effect).Based on a true story, prison break drama Escape From Pretoria sees Daniel Radcliffe give one of his best performances to date. Throw in the added complications of an unconvincing wig and a tricky, wavering Joburg accent, and the heart of the movie feels hollow. But beyond the character’s extraordinary actions, his characterisation lacks dimensions – Radcliffe puts in a solid performance lumbered by a clunky script (“You are the white Mandela!” a guard blurts early on) that fails to get under the skin of Jenkin or any of the supporting characters. Watch Escape from Pretoria Online Full Movie without registration on FmoviesBased on the real-life prison break of two political captives, Escape From Pretoria is a race-against-time thriller set in the tumultuous apartheid days of South Africa. Released March 6th, 2020, 'Escape from Pretoria' stars Daniel Radcliffe, Daniel Webber, Ian Hart, Mark Leonard Winter The PG-13 movie has a runtime of about 1 hr 42 min, and received a user. Radcliffe lends admirable clout to an undertold story as Jenkin, who after executing a non-lethal leaflet-bombing explosive protest in the fight for “a democratic and free South Africa” is sentenced to 12 years along with his accomplice Stephen Lee ( Webber). ![]() It’s a shame, then, that this adaptation of the true story, released to coincide with the 40th anniversary of the breakout, ends up feeling so thin. The method of prison-break at the heart of Escape From Pretoria feels made for the movies: Tim Jenkin ( Radcliffe), a political prisoner in Apartheid-era South Africa, hand-crafted a set of wooden keys, whittled in secret and maneuvered into his cell door via a complex contraption of levers, to facilitate his bid for freedom. ![]()
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