The Escapist

Movies about heists and prison escapes share more than a cast of criminals. They tend to involve elaborate plans, intricate to the point where the odds of miscalculation or human error are almost insurmountable. British writer-director Rupert Wyatt’s The Escapist (out Jan. 26 on DVD) is solidly in this tradition, cutting back and forth in time between the tense escape being sprung and the emergence of the scheme within the hard, stony walls of maximum security. Superbly composed and filmed in penitentiary shades of gray, green and blue, TheEscapist also rises on its strong cast, including Joseph Fiennes, Dominic Cooper and Steven Mackintosh.