Director: Dominic Savage
Writer: Dominic Savage (Screenplay)
Starring: Gemma Arterton, Dominic Cooper, Frances Barber, Marthe Keller, Laura Donoughue
Plot: An ordinary woman makes an extraordinary decision which will change her life forever.
Runtime: 1 Hour 41 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Verdict: Slow and Draw Out
Story: The Escape starts as we meet everyday wife and mother Tara (Arterton) who when her husband Mark (Cooper) is at work and children at school, is left with the everyday household routine, which is causing her to feel distant from her own life, which is getting boring in her eyes.
Wanting something more Tara starts learning about art, wanting to look to take classes during the days, but Mark doesn’t think it will be good for her, as she is dealing with a problem child. Does Tara just need a break or can she escape the life she feels trapped in.
Thoughts on The Escape
Characters – Tara has been married for years now, has two children, a successful husband, but her life is going nowhere, she feels alone, trapped in a cycle where she doesn’t get time to do anything for herself, she is getting unhappier as the days pass until she finally breaks, will she just need a break or can she cope without the things she has in her life. Mark is her husband and spends most of his time working and expecting things to be ready when he gets home, he can’t handle Tara’s feelings which only makes him more controlling that he wants to be.
Performances – Gemma Arterton does all she can with the role, she is meant to be playing a down character, so we don’t expect her to do anything wildly over the top, just be plain, everyday, which is what we get here. Dominic Cooper in the support role does a solid enough job with his role too.
Story – The story here follows an everyday wife and mother that is going through an early mid-life crisis, trying to figure out what she wants from her life, feeling lonely and unfulfilled, until she decides to escape for a while. This story is meant to show us how dull married life can be if you don’t find a way to keep the excitement in it, how you could blink one day and realize you are following a basic routine which isn’t going anywhere and that you need to break out. It doesn’t give us the true length of time as to why she is feeling this way and ends up leaving us wondering why more people aren’t around to help her, like friends or family outside of her husband. The pacing of the film is very slow, which doesn’t give us enough time to get invested in the film.
Settings – The film uses the settings to show just how plain and boring Tara’s life is, it doesn’t give us much else, only it does help to show how lonely she has become.
Scene of the Movie – Snapping at her kids.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – It just isn’t very interesting.
Final Thoughts – This is a film that is meant to show how difficult adult life can become, it shows us just how routine can drive us insane if we let ourselves get bogged down by it.
Overall: Basic life drama.
