The Escape (2018)

Why so much hype?

It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

True to its essence, the characters remain on the same line and manage to entertain the viewer, each highlighting their own distinctive qualities or touches.

I actually finished the movie, but I was disgusted by the story, how can she do that?

Gemma Arterton's performance was wonderful in this film. She summed up her feelings and thoughts perfectly and even triggered my own feelings in regards to depression. It was very moving and difficult to watch at times. Slow burned to create feelings of tension building up inside her.

I suppose the title is a spoiler in itself... but I really did like the film a lot until the ending which I felt was a copout. The film was well acted; I felt the pain of the character played by Arterton throughout. It's the housewife/mother's dilemma we feminists identified decades ago: many or even most women won't be satisifed "just" keeping house, raising their children and keeping their man happy. No, a woman needs meaningful activity in her life in which her thoughts and creativity can be used. This is what Arterton's character was missing and seeking. It was interesting if not obvious the way the older French woman who "rescues" her at the end tells her to "try to make your life work with your husband and if that doesn't work, make it work without him." Well, yes, and early on in the film the husband does give the wife this opportunity. When she was just discovering how sad and unfulfilled she was, he, apparently sincerely, tells her, "Just tell me what you want. I'll do anything for you." If only she knew enough at that point she could have said, well here's a list of what I want and need." But as in real life, things aren't usually that tidy or easy. So she had to go through running away and meeting a cad of a man in order to realize that she already had enough good in her life to work with. I would have loved the movie even more if the ending had been more definitive. Instead, it does a kind of "We've come full circle" thing in which we're left to surmise what the main character does next.

An ordinary woman makes an extraordinary decision which will change her life forever. Despite a solid perfomance from Gemma Arterton 'The Escape' is a typical drama about how a married couple changes after spending a few years together and it wasn't as good as it might have hoped it was, the overall character of Dominic Cooper was so bad he was the typical jack*ss that was demanding sex with his wife every morning and night and was such a terrible perfomance and character. The film's ending also cuts short and except Arterton's perfomance there isn't something more to it. It was boring, monotone and packed with some forgettable perfomances. (3/10)