Brawl in Cell Block 99

Starring: Vince Vaughn, Jennifer Carpenter, Don Johnson, Udo Kier, Marc Blucas
Directed by: S. Craig Zahler
Rating: R
Genre: Drama
2017

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A prisoner (Vince Vaughn) is forced to commit murder in prison, or his wife (Jennifer Carpenter) will be tortured and killed.

Review:

Tim: A lot of people loved S. Craig Zahler's Bone Tomahawk. I certainly marveled at the unique, odd film, but I couldn't quite say I enjoyed it. It was decent, but the gore felt too unnecessary, the movie not quite fully formed. Zahler's second directorial effort, Brawl in Cell Block 99 shares many characteristics of his first film, but it felt more effective. It still suggests Zahler has untapped potential (I strongly suspect his best films are ahead of him), but it's a step in the right direction. This felt more like a complete film.

The story is simple- a man goes to prison, and he must find and kill another prisoner or his wife and unborn child will be harmed. From that simple premise, Zahler (who also wrote the film) is able to tell a complex, memorable story. One of the things I loved was the journey Vince Vaughn's character has to go through just to get to the titular Cell Block 99. I loved how his progression through the prison system was shown. It gave the film this wonderful sense of momentum, that the character was moving towards his destination. It was a lot of fun watching this character go through brutal experience after brutal experience. That makes up the bulk of the film. Zahler is certainly not one to flinch away from the dark, the gory, the disgusting. His movies feel soaked in blood.

Now, some of this violence is a turnoff. I'm all for violent movies and I do appreciate Zahler pushing the limits here. There's something truly impressive about his ability to make us squirm in our seats. That was needed- this is a violent, gory film and those aspects were essential to the story Zahler was trying to tell. Still, there's a few moments when it feels like too much- that it's gore for the sake of gore and supporting the character and story becomes secondary. There's only a few scenes where it slips into that realm, but they do detract some from the film.

I give Vince Vaughn great credit for his performance here. It's quiet and restrained from an acting perspective, but it's a very physical role. Vaughn is an underrated actor. It's pretty amazing that he can do comedy so well and then turn around and be believable in this role. He really makes the movie work- he commits so many acts of violence that the movie risks losing the audience. Why should we care about such a violent prisoner, regardless of how noble his intentions behind the violence might be? Luckily, this never happens- we care about this character because of Vaughn's performance. He really is impressive. I thought Jennifer Carpenter was decent. I'll always like her because of "Dexter", but she didn't blow me away here. Her acting was fine, her performance worked. It was fun seeing Don Johnson here. He might not be a great actor, but his presence gave the movie this cool "B film" feel. I see why he was the right person for the warden.

Brawl in Cell Block 99 is a violent, cringe-inducing film. It tells a powerful story, though. It keeps you on the edge of your seat and you become invested in the events on screen. The relentless violence can be a little much and occasionally overshadows the story, though. Still, Zahler is someone to keep an eye on. Bone Tomahawk was flawed but quite unique. His second film is a good one- he seems to be gaining confidence as a director. This movie was solid enough to put me on alert for whatever he does next.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Bone Tomahawk