Review of Escape From Pretoria
midlandsmovies • April 26, 2020
Review of Escape From Pretoria
Escape from Pretoria (2020) Dir. Francis Annan
Based on the real-life prison escape by three political prisoners in 70s South Africa, this new drama is adapted from the book Inside Out: Escape from Pretoria Prison by Tim Jenkin, one of the escapees.
Jenkin is played by Daniel Radcliffe whilst Daniel Webber plays his friend and fellow campaigner Stephen Lee. The two are sentenced to prison time after a leaflet bombing campaign in support of the banned ANC group (famed for Nelson Mandela’s support and subsequent imprisonment). And the two white men are chastised in court for throwing away their white privilege in Apartheid South Africa.
As they are stripped of their clothes and possessions, the film shows us the typical hard-ass curmudgeon guard stereotype who explains how bad things will be in prison. At this point, hints of the Shawshank Redemption and similar jail movies came flooding back – however, it’s to the film’s credit that the real story takes off in another direction.
If it wasn’t for it being a true tale, audiences may not have believed their plan which simply involves them copying the keys to the prison doors. Away from their rigid routine, intriguing scenes of the group testing their devices – from carving tools in a woodwork classroom to adapting a broom – keep the audience informed of their plans and the fantastic performances are believable and likeable.
The film’s tension rises as they begin testing the keys at night after lockdown. Getting further and further each time, the film’s nail-biting trial and error approach and escape attempt scenes are the very definition of edge-of-the-seat thrills.
Unfortunately, the politics take a bit of a backseat at times but the underlying reasons for their escape from their incarceration means audiences will support them the whole way. With a thrilling finale, Escape from Pretoria is an engaging and exciting true life story of a daring true life break out.
★★★★
Michael Sales
On Sunday 26th April Midlands Movies Editor Michael Sales & awards ceremony co-host Ed Stagg (BBC Radio) announced the nominations for the 2026 Midlands Movies Awards live from the Queen of Bradgate Vintage Cinema in Leicester. A big thanks was given to the entire Jury Panel of industry experts who gave up their precious time to watch a huge selection of creative projects and as always, had a difficult time choosing from the excellent number of films from the region. You can read the full list of nominations across all 16 categories below and watch our announcement videos here: Part 1 & Part 2 And please also check out our great awards partner Chrome Video Best Actress in a Leading Role Karendip Phull for Family Kate Bracken for The Lace Rachel Baker for Throwing Fruit Chloe Wade for How Long Sophie Bullock for Ma Prison Best Animated Film Of All the Things by Steff Lee Big Red by James Pyle Statue in the Garden by Qianhui Yu Butterfly by Jacob Christie Best Director Luke Worrall for The Waterline Lily Portman for Quiet Jack Richardson for Daniel’s Room Jonathan Hawes for Sorry We’re Closed Sophia Dall'Aglio for Man from Mars Best Documentary Nothing's Impossible by Jacob Thomas McClean A Birmingham Symphony by Jemma Saunders We Bring Light: Leicester's Diwali Legacy by Kieran Vyas The Sunshine Café by Jill Lampert Through the Viewfinder by William North Best Sound (Editing or Mixing) Neil Evans & his team for Artificial Insanity Alasdair Gretton for Dead on Distribution Deepanjali Patel for Earworm David Hamilton-Smith for The Pause Heidi Wilson for Of All The Things Best Actor in a Supporting Role Devon Junior for Lazar Tim Sparrow for Safety Net Shaiek Ahmed Rana for Family Luke Rollason for Quiet Peter Willoughby for A Story of Spring Best Visual & Special Effects Jake Wesley-Worrall for Soul Trader Steve Askey & team for The Correction Unit Nick Willett, Matt Burkey & Jayne Hyman for Black Goat JaqD SFX MUA, Mind Magic Studios and Ben Harker for Beyond the Witching Hour Jacob Christie for Countenance Best Cinematography Gary Rogers for The Pause Laurence Mason-Guetta for Sorry We’re Closed Ian Snape for Soul Trader Ash Connaughton for Daniel’s Room Duane Adamoli for Surfing (nominations continue below...)
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