When Billy Hayes is caught by Turkish customs officers trying to smuggle hash out of the country he suddenly finds himself caught up in a draconian, harsh judicial and prison system. Initially hopeful of a more lenient sentence, he is eventually convicted of drug trafficking rather than possession and in the face of several decades rather than just several years at the hands of corrupt, violent and abusive prison guards, he begins to crack.
*****
Although the film begins with “based on true events”, the cast and crew are candid enough throughout the impressive and educational extras to admit to the sequence of re-writes that caused the final screenplay to depart a little from its factual roots. Nonetheless, what remains is a powerful and savage indictment of corruption and brutality and it comes as no surprise to hear how displeased Turkey were with the prospect of a film being based on Billy Hayes’ book and how hard they worked to prevent the film being made pretty much anywhere in the Middle East and Eastern Europe.
As Billy Hayes, the (at the time) unknown Brad Davis excels in a part that requires rage, dead-eyed catatonia, desperation, child-like neediness and eventually determined endeavour. He is entirely absent from the thorough and thoroughly enjoyable extras, having died of an AIDS-related illness in the late 1991, still only at the tender age of 41. Considering that Richard Gere came close to being cast as Hayes, it is more than a little troubling to consider what might have been, but thankfully the casting for Hayes and the rest of the principals is spot on. John Hurt looks older and more haggard in the film than he does being interviewed in 2008, testament to his commitment to professionalism. Randy Quaid is almost unrecognisable from the, shall we say, larger screen presence he became in later years, but is superb in his role as fellow prison inmate Jimmy.
Hayes’ progression from frustrated, but still alive, to brow-beaten and almost vegetative is convincingly portrayed by Davis, who undoubtedly does the heavy lifting in terms of character arcs. The sense of time and place is expertly handled by director Alan Parker (Bugsy Malone, Mississippi Burning, The Commitments) and even if the script from Oliver Stone at times becomes a little over-blown and hysterical, it manages for the most part to remain grounded and believable.
There were criticisms at the time that the film failed to show any Turks in a positive light, though it is understandable, indeed inevitable that following Hayes’ experiences he would tend to be disinclined to write kindly of those who for the most part had treated him so savagely. The senior prison guard is a monster of almost unequalled viciousness and one of the inmates who persistently takes it upon himself to grass Billy and the other westerners to the authorities is a slimy, conniving manipulator who would cause most of us to lose our cool, as Billy does in one especially electrifying and affecting scene.
A notorious film, due to the harshness and brutality on display, but a more than worthwhile one, given the important message it carries about the indomitability of the human spirit and the disparity between different countries’ approach to justice, something that this year’s Arab Spring brough into sharp relief once again. You can rent it or buy it here.
[Rating:4/5]
Extras: As alluded to above, a mightily impressive selection. The making of “featurettes” are nothing of the sort, forming instead a three part, near 75-minutes long documentary that talks to everyone involved about getting the film greenlit, cast, shot and released, with self-effacing contributions from Alan Parker, David Puttnam, Oliver Stone and the rest of the production team. Insights abound, as does an invaluable explanation of just how hard it is to get back up to speed with filming once you start to fall behind. Alan Parker’s director commentary is unfortunately a bit repetitive given the detail contained in the featurettes, but still contains a lot of useful behind the scenes information. A contemporary making-of rounds out the selection, which feels inevitably dated but still has a lot to say.
[Rating:4/5]
[yframe url=’http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAY4aADKk08′]
