I'm the first to say that, as a rule, I'm not into prison movies. But this one?... Wowwww: What a journey, and I'm so glad I went. The fact that this is a true story (turns out 2 of these main characters are still alive) about "hardened criminals" whose inner selves are revealed as incredible Souls??...was fine. Let's face it, when it comes down to it ... Souls are pretty incredible, and movie formulas are pretty predictable. So it definitely took me a bit to get into it (I tend to prefer movies that take me more "on vacation" ... versus, you know, behind bars). And this was the real wow for this movie lover - wanting to stay there, stay in it.
Once this film gets us established to the fact that we're IN there - in nnnnightmare prison-life hell - it then transitions us in to a gorgeous-to-look-at piece of poignant storytelling. The writer/director stunningly captured the beauty and light of the place with its cinematography and pallet, which was a surprising at first (as a former Forensics Director overseeing community-reentry programs ...I've BEEN in prisons).
But there was the wow again. The aesthetic beauty quietly, subtly revealed throughout the film turned out to be theeee perfect symbolism riding alongside this incredible journey: Beauty resides "within," even in hell.
You'll want to keep tissues close by, truth and emotion present to us in many forms, this time it's via a prison flick.
Review of The Hammer
