Prisoner’s Daughter, 2023.
Directed by Catherine Hardwicke.
Starring Kate Beckinsale, Brian Cox, Christopher Convery, Tyson Ritter, Ernie Hudson, Jon Huertas, Mark Kubr, Chuti Tiu, Cinthia Moura, Eileen Rene Prudhont, Yonel Dorelis, Maynard Bagang, Cooper Nelson, and Caysen Kinchelow.
SYNOPSIS:
A father fights for the love of his daughter and grandson, after serving twelve years in prison.
Director Catherine Hardwicke’s Prisoner’s Daughter spends most of its running time avoiding falling into the cliché trap one might be expecting, that it’s a shame when it does give over to those impulses for a forced, unintentionally hilarious, overcooked final 15 minutes. The rest is a solid, if clunkily written, dysfunctional family drama reaching for some complexities about parenting, such as a realistically thorny moment where a mother punishes her son for standing up to bullies by beating them up instead of letting them run over him and control his life, but is actually proud of him while self-aware he shouldn’t be fighting in school).
That mom is Kate Beckinsale’s Maxine, a financially struggling, overworked single mom of early teenager Ezra (Christopher Convery). The working part quickly goes out the window as her burnout junkie drummer ex-partner Tyler (played by All-American Rejects frontman Tyson Ritter) makes a scene at one of her places of work, getting her fired. It also happens that her former boxer turned career criminal father, Max (Brian Cox), is allowed to be released from incarceration on account of not having much more time to live due to his stage IV pancreatic cancer diagnosis, and that’s if his daughter wants to reconnect and let him live out his remaining days there.
On an initial phone call, Maxine still wants nothing to do with this man, who was never around to be a parental figure and often left her traumatized from looking after her suicidal, alcoholic mother. However, life is not getting any easier, and regardless of what Tyler says, he is not trying to improve his life and become a role model father (he currently squats in an abandoned building tagged with graffiti, surrounded by like-minded drug addicts). Max can provide assistance paying some of the bills, so she decides to say yes to the good behavior release, insisting that he pretend to Ezra that he is an estranged uncle.
Why Maxine thinks she can fool Ezra is anyone’s guess, as he is inquisitive and a smart ass who loves asking questions. So the jig is up pretty quickly, but that allows Prisoner’s Daughter to close in on the contrast between a man who has changed over 12 years and wants to be a part of his family’s life and another man with no drive for takes for granted that his son looks up to him like a superhero. In one of the film’s strongest scenes, Max (played with such grace, humility, and directness by Brian Cox) gives Ezra the option to be told the child or grown-up version of the truth. Naturally, Ezra thinks he is old enough to hear such blunt facts, so Max wastes no time laying into Tyler and why he is such a pathetic father and man.
Not only is it a raw piece of truth for Ezra, but it further shows Maxine what change looks like and that this is not her father from 12 years ago. He is also teaching the boy how to box and fight on the side to defend himself from bullies, but he is primarily a positive influence on the boy. Unfortunately, it feels as if director Catherine Hardwicke and screenwriter Mark Bacci go out of their way to sanitize what kind of horrific man Max was, seemingly afraid to give us the full details for fear it might change what we think of him or muddle the story dynamics in a too complicated fashion.
For a lengthy stretch, the serviceable performances and chemistry between the cast carry Prisoner’s Daughter through several plot contrivances, conveniences, and occasional forced emotional dialogue. The compelling family dynamics make up for the unconvincing plotting until the film becomes violent in a way that doesn’t come across as entirely believable or authentic. Not even Brian Cox can make much of this work, especially the climax.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★
Robert Kojder is a member of the Chicago Film Critics Association and the Critics Choice Association. He is also the Flickering Myth Reviews Editor. Check here for new reviews, follow my Twitter or Letterboxd, or email me at MetalGearSolid719@gmail.com
