It has one of those great opening scenes that pulls you in right away. Great staging, amazing music choice, solid writing; just very impressively done overall. What follows is a below average drama in need of better direction. It’s already not the most dramatically compelling story due to the morality of the situation being very black & white, however when you add the unsubtle portrayal of the British secret service/juridical/prison system, cheesy score, hammy sound effects and overacting (even from DDL on occasion), it starts to feel cheap on an artistic level. I just don’t buy how a lot of these scenes are presented, it rings to me as too sensationalized and/or poorly researched. On the other hand, the characters are pretty well defined and I enjoyed the contrast between Gerry and Giuseppe. I like that their relationship becomes the main focus as the film moves along, thereby providing a unique spin on the prison genre. However, once everything reaches its conclusion it doesn’t leave you with much to chew on. There’s moments of effective sadness along the way, but it ultimately struggles to move beyond the surface at any point. Again, it’s just too basic for my liking, occasionally manipulative and lacking in vision. In other words, not surprised it received a Best Picture nomination.

4/10