Director backs his convictions

Veteran British actor Brian Cox stars as Frank Perry in 'The Escapist'.

Rupert Wyatt has always been a fan of the prison film, be it the detailing of French efforts Le Trou and Papillon or the emotion of the more recent American production The Shawshank Redemption.

Now, there are more than a few fans of his take on the genre.

The Escapist opened in the United States last month following an initial showing at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival and has garnered favourable reviews.

Indeed, a film based on the well-tested prison escape theme has given Wyatt his big break (excuse the pun).

"The great thing about The Escapist is it has given me the chance to get things made now. The reception has been very good . . .

"There was a chance I might never crack it, because it's a tough gig getting the first feature off the ground.

"Now, it's a case of when something comes next, rather than if," Wyatt explains from his Los Angeles home earlier this week.

The key to working in an old genre is to give the audience something new, he says.

Hence, Wyatt has ditched the slow-burn build-up in which prisoners hatch then enact their escape plans.

In its place is a narrative in which the depiction of everyday prison life runs parallel to the escape action.

It's a mix-and-match approach that, despite an inherent danger of giving the game away (it doesn't, by the way), adds to the tension.

Wyatt's stylistic choice also provides plenty of contrast: the pace and energy of the unfolding escape versus the almost static routine of life behind bars.

One constant, however, is a script as spare as the inmates' surroundings.

"It was always our intention to be far more stripped-back than a lot of contemporary film-making is - particularly Hollywood films, which really spoon-feed the audience," Wyatt says.

"You can fall short and go too much in the other direction and confuse and alienate an audience by not telling them enough, but I think to give an audience the opportunity to understand these men by way of their actions, rather than their crimes or their backgrounds, makes for a much more visceral film."