Papillon

Starring: Steve McQueen, Dustin Hoffman, Victor Joy, Don Gordon, Anthony Zerbe, Dalton Trumbo (uncredited)
Directed by: Franklin J. Schaffner
Rating: R
Genre: Drama, Thriller
1973

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: Two prisoners (Steve McQueen, Dustin Hoffman) become friends and seek a way to escape from a cruel island prison.

Review:

Tim: Papillon is an incredible film. There have been many great jailbreak films over the years, but this one feels different to many of them. It's a movie about several men trying to escape a deadly, tortuous prison, but it feels like it touches on more themes than that. It explores friendship, sacrifice, determination, tenacity, and more. I walked away feeling so impressed, so stricken by what I'd seen. This is an excellent film.

The film does a fantastic job of establishing interesting characters early. These men are convicted criminals, but it doesn't really matter to us what they were accused of doing or whether they are guilty or not. We learn to appreciate and care about Papillon and Louis, regardless of their past. I felt a genuine emotional connection to these two men. The challenges they must endure are brutal and we feel the blows ourselves because we care about both men. This is so essential to the film because the emotional connection we feel hypes all the other emotions through their ups and downs.

It helps that we got two remarkable performances from the leads. Steve McQueen was a great actor and this was one of his best performances. I was surprised he wasn't recognized with a nomination for an Academy Awards. He's fully committed to the part and it's often not pretty. I was so impressed with his performance- the strength, fighting off madness, the moments when he nearly collapsed and gave up. He brings a subtlety to the role was made Papillon such a memorable character. He has a great costar in Dustin Hoffman, giving yet another terrific performance. His Louis Dega couldn't be more different than Papillon, but their friendship felt genuine (which is impressive considering the two actors didn't really get along). Hoffman is a great actor and he truly shined in this role. The supporting cast was very good- I was impressed how different people would cycle through and each gave a strong performance. That helped the movie immensely.

There's so many highlights in this film, but I want to touch on a few. The most noteworthy for me is the prolonged scenes of Papillon in solitary confinement for years. I couldn't believe how engaging and exciting these scenes were. You'd think spending a chunk of an already long movie watching a single person in a small cell would get old. It never does. Director Franklin J. Schaffner creates these spellbinding sequences that make you feel the claustrophobic, boring, lonely existence in solitary. It might be the best depiction of solitary confinement I've ever seen in a film. Those scenes were top notch. I enjoyed the entire film, but the different escape sequences were exciting and nerve-wracking. I especially loved a few moments towards the end of the movie. Papillon and Louis are contemplating a dangerous escape plan. Louis says, "It seems so desperate. You think it will work?" and Papillon, worn down with his existence replies, "Does it matter?" I was blown away by the dialogue and the performance behind it.

Papillon is an incredible movie about the courage of humanity to struggle for life in the face of impossible odds. It's an entertaining, memorable film and one of the best prison movies I've ever seen. I really loved this film.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 8



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: The Great Escape, Midnight Express