Breakout aka Ticket Out, 2011.
Directed by Doug Lodato.
Starring Ray Liotta, Alexandra Breckenridge, Colin Ford, Ciara Bond, Billy Burke, Scott Michael Campbell, Joel David Moore, and Christopher B. Duncan.
SYNOPSIS:
A mother takes her children and flees an abusive ex-husband.
Also known as Ticket Out, Breakout is one of an array of straight to video specials starring the goodfella himself, Ray Liotta. He’s balanced these low budget, quick pay day jobs well with supporting roles in theatrically released fare such as Iceman and Killing Them Softly. The other apparent selling point, according to the artwork, for Breakout is that it’s from the writer of The Hunger Games (screenwriter Suzanne Collins). Ordinarily when a film bills itself as “from the writer of” or “the producer of…” another film it ends up being a bit of turkey. So is this brilliantly made, or is it more Bernard Matthews?
A mother (Alexandra Breckenridge), coming out of an abusive relationship, tries to gain full custody of her two children. She fails, and it takes little more than the kids first visitation with their abusive father (Billy Burke) before he’s beating his son (Colin Ford) again. The young daughter remains blissfully unaware of what her father is really like and what is in store for her when she’s a little older. After an altercation in which Dennis (Burke) is shot by his son, Jocelyn (Breckenridge) takes her two kids and goes on the run. In the court case she had received a mysterious note offering her “help” if she needed it. She takes it up. It comes in the form of Jim (Ray Liotta) who is apparently working for some kind of underground help group assisting people who have been failed by justice in one way or another.
Now this film has many problems. Firstly it’s just thoroughly nonsensical. The storyline is ridiculous and the plotting is really bad. By the time the credits roll, those still awake might be left pondering the intent of certain characters and wondering just how a film could leave quite so many plot-holes. The whole thing lacks energy, meandering through its run time with the occasional brief spark of (something apparently intent on being) action. Director Doug Lodato’s limp grip on the already lacklustre material does not help matters. There’s no energy to any action scenes, nor often much of a build-up or point to some. The establishing of the relationship between Jocelyn, Dennis and their kids is incredibly lazy.
The cast almost seem to yawn through their roles here. Liotta phones in a character that doesn’t even try to tease at having even a second dimension, let alone a third. Breckenridge doesn’t have the presence or acting prowess to elevate a pretty thinly written role either. That’s not her fault, because it would take someone of Meryl Streeps ability to give Jocelyn any sort of dimension. Billy Burke feels as if he’s walked in from the set of The Bold and the Beautiful (or perhaps more Sunset Beach) playing an abusive father and just repeated his act. Cardboard cut-out would be an understatement.
From the silly idea to the feckless execution, Breakout (or Ticket Out) is a film that, were you ever to catch it at a cinema (unlikely) you’d be begging for a ticket out. There is very little of interest here and it’s unsurprising that it has taken two years to reach UK shores.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ / Movie: ★
Tom Jolliffe
Originally published September 9, 2013. Updated April 11, 2018.
