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Product Description
From the acclaimed team that brought you the hit gay drama SHANK, RELEASE is an explosive drama about violence, abuse and budding love behind walls of a hellish prison. After finding himself locked-up for a serious crime, young priest Jack (Daniel Brocklebank) struggles to adapt to life in an increasingly volitile prison replete with corrupt guards and a vulnerable cellmate (Wayne Virgo from SHANK). However, when he meets guard Martin (Garry Summers) a passionate but clandestine affair develops and he gets a new lease of life. Both mens dreams of escaping together are threatened as tensions rise and battle lines are drawn, and soon their very survival becomes paramount. More visceral and gut-wrenching than most gay cinema in recent memory, RELEASEs unflinching exploration of justice, retribution, repression, religion and love is an example of British cinema at its most refreshing, controversial and exciting.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
15 of 16 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
Having regard for Daniel Brocklebank as an actor, I felt for him being given this script. He did his level best but many of the scenes were so unrealistic for an English prison it was difficult to believe in it.
If the film had been set in a prison in a poor country or in the 18th century perhaps it might have rung true. Where in England would you find a prison so decrepit? Paint peeling, single light bulbs, a governors office so bare with her smoking roll ups and being intimidated by a prisoner?? No chance!
It tried to be artistic but failed miserably, with flashbacks which sometimes were difficult to follow.
Very disappointing when I was looking forward to viewing it.
If the film had been set in a prison in a poor country or in the 18th century perhaps it might have rung true. Where in England would you find a prison so decrepit? Paint peeling, single light bulbs, a governors office so bare with her smoking roll ups and being intimidated by a prisoner?? No chance!
It tried to be artistic but failed miserably, with flashbacks which sometimes were difficult to follow.
Very disappointing when I was looking forward to viewing it.
11 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase
Sadly I must agree with many of the criticisms leveled against this film. When considering what the director of 'Shank' has achieved in the past, I was expecting far more resonance and truth.
Like its predecessor (Shank) the film had a great story to tell, but ultimately fails when compared. A priest who questions the very foundation of his faith, and who participates in the assisted suicide of his own brother, makes for a profound and resonating story. Yet the despair, the self-loathing and introspection seems forced, and the 'story' is never quite conveyed in a way that makes the audience sympathetic. In the end, you cannot sympathize. The struggle is merely half told, and the inevitable pain seems aloof and shallow.
The fact that the priest is also gay, makes his ambivalence all the more confusing. He seems to have accepted his lot, and yet any person who has faced the internal war of faith, conscience and sexuality, will know that raw, brutal emotion is inevitable. You see none of this, making the end result seem artificial. Sure he feels guilty about the death of his brother, and reflects on his part in that death, but he never experiences a struggle of faith. Perhaps he was not meant to, and if that was the case then the story could have been far better told.
This could have been an excellent story, with stronger direction and stronger actors. In the end I found the supporting cast to be far more believable, but their strengths do not make for a success. Had I the choice again, knowing what I do, I would not have purchased this film.
Like its predecessor (Shank) the film had a great story to tell, but ultimately fails when compared. A priest who questions the very foundation of his faith, and who participates in the assisted suicide of his own brother, makes for a profound and resonating story. Yet the despair, the self-loathing and introspection seems forced, and the 'story' is never quite conveyed in a way that makes the audience sympathetic. In the end, you cannot sympathize. The struggle is merely half told, and the inevitable pain seems aloof and shallow.
The fact that the priest is also gay, makes his ambivalence all the more confusing. He seems to have accepted his lot, and yet any person who has faced the internal war of faith, conscience and sexuality, will know that raw, brutal emotion is inevitable. You see none of this, making the end result seem artificial. Sure he feels guilty about the death of his brother, and reflects on his part in that death, but he never experiences a struggle of faith. Perhaps he was not meant to, and if that was the case then the story could have been far better told.
This could have been an excellent story, with stronger direction and stronger actors. In the end I found the supporting cast to be far more believable, but their strengths do not make for a success. Had I the choice again, knowing what I do, I would not have purchased this film.
15 of 17 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
What a sad let down after the well thought out and ultimately affectionate "Swank"..almost everything here is poor, attempted atmospheric dream sequences, ridiculous "plotlines" and some abysmal performances produce a spectacularly low budget movie with no heart and perilously little moral.
Avoid.
Avoid.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Not worth my time!
The worst film ive ever seen, its really not worth the ti me and money, it's unrealistic!!! Dont bother with it!
Published 4 months ago by Matty
Disappointing
There's little to like about this mean, slow, and unrewarding film. After the excellent Shank (from the same team), this effort comes as a complete letdown. Read more
Published 8 months ago by Zee Jai
perfectly competent
although i am not a particular fan of this director i think this is a perfectly competently made film. Read more
Published 12 months ago by Christian Marshall
Oh dear!
Like a lot of people I bought this based on the really rather good `Shank'Shank [DVD] [2008]. Like this that was a low budget indie Brit flick filmed around Bristol. Read more
Published 14 months ago by Tommy D
lacking strength
The idea and story plan is a good one, but to me was a bit far fetched.For one thing are prisoners allowed matches and lighted candles in their cells?. Read more
Published 16 months ago by david gibson
Powerful prison drama
Whilst satiating certain prison-based fantasies, Release offers much more than titillation. Daniel Brocklebank (Emmerdale, Eastenders)stars as a gay priest who is imprisoned and... Read more
Published 16 months ago by Tom Smith
Touchy story
A priest is locked within a prison for a crime he claims he did not committed!
There his faith will be putted to the test as not only he has to face the harsh environment but... Read more
There his faith will be putted to the test as not only he has to face the harsh environment but... Read more
Published 17 months ago by Minerboh
send a copy to the pope
Today I have reviewed Shank [DVD] [2008] which after viewing it I then purchased the film makers follow up RELEASE out of curiosity. Read more
Published 17 months ago by Jack O
A chilling saga 4*
It is questionable that those reviewers on here that have been so uneducated and malicious in their reviews of this film have chosen to ignore the cinematic merits of a brave and... Read more
Published 17 months ago by MPC
A Let Down
When I read the mixed reviews this film has received on this page, I disbelieved those that were so against the film thinking that they must have some axe to grind. Read more
Published 17 months ago by Gaberlunzie
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