Films/DVD Asylum

Posted by Celluloid (i) on February 18, 2001 at 09:12:29:

In Reply to: Has Steve Buscemi's 'Animal Factory' (with Willem Dafoe) come out in the US, yet?(nt) posted by Jeff Starrs on January 31, 2001 at 04:17:21:

Yes it has...I've had a copy for a couple of months or so. This is a must see film for all cineastes...especially fans of the sub-genre of prison movies. This is right up there with Don Siegel's "Escape from Alcatraz." Buscemi does a beautiful job of balancing the intense drama inherent in the subject/location with documentary -like details of the minutae and tedium of prison life. This isn't a film that panders to the audience by jacking up the violence or pumping up the plot....like "Oz" or Stephen King. The muted tones and subdued pace echoes Siegel/Eastwood and admirably avoids the temptation that lures nearly all directors/actors to gleefully chomp the scenery whenever they pass the prison portals. Superb casting...Mickey Rourke and Tom Arnold, Cassavetes veteran Seymour Cassell shine in supporting roles...but Willem Dafoe is absolutely stellar here. This is the kind of performance that should win Academy Awards.