This is Tom Sellecks best movie in my opinion (so far)
The early dialogue scenes and dialogue are not very promising, stilted and by the numbers, but once it reaches prison, Lawdy Moma! The standard goes up through the roof and out into the stratosphere!
I can't recall a better portrayal of what life is like inside an American prison than this, or a film that changes gears from B movie level to A grade so dramatically
For a movie that is primarily designed as entertainment, rather than an expose or documentary, this strikes me as pretty accurate (not that I would really know, having never been in prison)
It manages to generate, what I found to be, a very credible nightmare World, where there are no good options and little in the way of hope.
F Murray Abraham, as the old lag, and Bruce A Young, as Selleck's worst nighmare, are particularly outstanding.
Once we return to the outside World the standard falls back to earth, but remains entertaining and very comptently put together.
Sledge Hammer puts in a noteworthy stint as the nasty main villain, he's a strictly second rate as a actor and bit OTT, but in this case ideal for his one dimentional role
After some initial confusion about his moral standing, where the audience is allowed to wonder if maybe he's just a bit over enthusiastic (like his comedy character), he soon shows his true colours and becomes entirely devoid of redeeming qualities, constantly gimacing and showing us the whites of his eyes.
Laila Robins puts in a sterling effort as the suffering wife, but I found Badja Djola a bit wooden as the good cop
Recommended
Review of An Innocent Man
