Back in 2018 when this highly praised miniseries, Escape at Dannemora, came out I had watched the first two episodes because, you know, free Showtime. After that, it just sort of fell off my radar. I knew with the caliber of actors in the show that it would do well during awards season, and it did! Sometimes that’s all I need to know. Also, the show itself wasn’t that big of a mystery since it was based on real life events that took place only a few years prior.
With that being said, I’m very glad I’ve had the opportunity to watch the rest of the series now! I will credit the guys from Workaholics’ podcast, This is Important, with inspiring me to finish this show. They collectively mentioned in a recent episode that it was the best show, written, directed, and acted, that they’d seen in the last handful of years. That’s high praise! And again, it was also critically acclaimed by almost everyone (that Rotten Tomatoes score don’t lie!).
Now, the meat of the story is this. Matt and David are two prisoners a the Clinton Correctional Facility in upstate New York. They have a sort of friendship with one goal in mind: to get out. Both men, at various points in time, also have a sexual relationship with a tailor room worker, Tilly. While David works on the escape route, Matt manages to seduce Tilly into their escape plan. This is made easier by the fact that Tilly pretty obviously detests her husband.
Most of the show is sets out to make our three main characters seem likeable and that we should be rooting for their escape. Once the men are ready to put their plan into action, the show takes a genius creative turn and gives us a whole episode of backstories. This shows us that none of them, Tilly included, are good people. Matt and David are in prison for a reason! The most gut-wrenching scene shows a likeable cop stumble upon David in an illegal exchange of goods, who then shoots the cop and runs him over with his car. Matt on the other hand, is a junkie who has no problems resorting to torture and then gruesome dismemberment. And while Tilly isn’t necessarily violent, her evil comes from her mind, and what she’s able to manipulate with that thought process.
I applaud that turn of events because far too often shows and films tend to steer audiences in to sympathizing with the villains. While that is what a majority of this show as doing, it was clearly on purpose to set up that penultimate episode to smack us in the face an remind us what these people are capable of. Aside from the great twist in the script, I must tip my hat off to Ben Stiller for directing some really awesome scenes throughout the show. The highlight of course being when David goes through his test run of the escape. Excellent work!
Ultimately, nothing works out for these crafty bastards and they get theirs. Sure, no one really knows all the events and the details that transpired to make the escape happen, but we didn’t need to. Stiller and team make it interesting and believable enough that it doesn’t matter. Also, I am a big fan of the lead three actors, so to see Patricia Arquette, Benecio del Toro, and Paul Dano get love for this show was all the more satisfying. Final side note, Eric Lange, who played Tilly’s husband Lyle was incredible – totally unrecognizable! Kudos to the makeup department, as well. If you get the chance, watch this show!