Catherine Hardwicke’s latest film, Prisoner’s Daughter, contains a few glimmers of hope, but unfortunately they’re all overshadowed by Marc Bach’s pedestrian script. . Fresh off his breakthrough role as Logan Roy on the series Succession, Brian Cox stars as Max, a former boxer and law enforcement officer who has spent the past 12 years in prison. When Max is diagnosed with terminal cancer, the director sympathetically grants him his release on the condition that he live with his estranged daughter Maxine (Kate Beckinsale) and her son Ezra (Christopher Convery). suggest.
Maxine reluctantly accepts the arrangement, given her dire financial situation, on the condition that Max pays the rent. Between inconsistent work and little help (if not outright sabotage) from Ezra’s erratic father Tyler (All-American Rejects frontman Tyson Ritter), Maxine finds herself struggling to make ends meet. I’m having trouble buying medicine for Ezra’s epilepsy. But inevitably, she begins to mend her relationship with Max, who becomes a devoted father figure to Ezra, much to Tyler’s dismay.
Of course, we’ve seen this story many times before, and it’s executed much better. Despite the dedication of the cast (especially Cox, who is probably miscast for all of his best efforts), the script resists exploring what makes this story worth telling. The script denies any depth beyond the circumstances of the characters—a conflicted single mother, a repentant father—and thus their relationships remain empty and typical. Even more frustrating, the film omits any criticism of the prison system in its stifling bureaucracy. And there is little question as to why Max can survive outside of it, especially as an old man who has been incarcerated for many years.
prisoner’s daughter
Rated R for language and some violence. Running time: 1 hour 40 minutes. at the theater.
