Brawl in Cell Block 99

Half gritty and realistic crime drama, half over-the-top ultra-violent prison exploitation film, Brawl in Cell Block 99 is certainly not for the fainthearted.  But for those with a strong stomach, writer/director S. Craig Zahler’s second film is an intense rollercoaster, and Vince Vaughn gives his most impressive performance in years.

Premise:  After being laid off, Bradley Thomas (Vince Vaughn) takes work as a drug runner to support his pregnant wife, Lauren (Jennifer Carpenter), until his moral compass leads to his incarceration.  Once inside, Bradley finds himself in an impossible situation, where he must go to increasingly extreme lengths to protect those that he loves.

Review:

Like Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino’s 1996 vampire/crime hybrid From Dusk til Dawn (which I love), Brawl in Cell Block 99 is really two different films smashed together.  The first half is a relatively grounded and realistic crime drama, focusing on the strained relationship between Bradley (Vince Vaughn) and Lauren (Jennifer Carpenter).  Both are recovering alcoholics attempting to put their lives back on track after a series of set-backs, who reluctantly turn to local drug dealer Gil (Marc Blucas) for work after Bradley is laid off from his job.

Both Vince Vaughn and Jennifer Carpenter are terrific in the first part of the film, as they manage to convey the complexities of a couple who are trying very hard to make their relationship work in difficult times.  It’s their relationship that draws you into the movie, and as the film enters its more preposterous second half, it’s Bradley’s and Lauren’s bond that provides the emotional anchor to the mayhem that follows.

“…Vince Vaughn carries this film…”

It’s no spoiler to say that Bradley’s decision to embrace a life of crime ultimately leads to his imprisonment (the film’s title is a bit of a giveaway), but even then, the early scenes of his induction into a medium security prison are still all fairly grounded.  Vince Vaughn carries this film (he’s in virtually every scene), and what’s impressive is that he’s so convincing as Bradley that at no point during the film did I find myself wondering what the joker out of Wedding Crashers etc was doing in a serious role.  Vince Vaughn makes full use of his 6’ 5” height which, combined with a newly pumped-up physique and shaven head, makes him a convincingly intimidating physical presence.

One of the key character traits that Vince Vaughn gets across in the first half of the film is the sense that Bradley keeps an incredibly tight rein on his emotions – in particular, a rage that constantly bubbles just under the surface, always threatening to boil over.  This is visible twice in the first half of the film – once in the opening prelude, and a second time on Bradley’s first night alone in his cell.  But on each occasion, Bradley gets his rage back under control almost as soon as it’s erupted.

“…releases the tension with an onslaught of bone-snapping, head-stomping brutality…”

Then everything changes at the halfway point with the arrival of the nameless “Placid Man”, played by German actor Udo Kier, who gives Bradley a chilling ultimatum.  I won’t say too much about the specifics, but from that point onwards, the film becomes something else entirely.

No longer a grounded crime drama, the film morphs into an ultra-violent prison exploitation film, as Bradley is forced to unleashed his inner demons in order to save his loved ones.  Just as From Dusk til Dawn changed from kidnap thriller to vampire B-movie at the halfway point, Brawl in Cell Block 99 throws subtly out of the window once Bradley is transferred to Redleaf maximum security prison.  This prison is an old-school stone fortress, more like a dungeon than a modern correctional facility, and run by Warden Tuggs (played with literal mustache-twirling sadistic glee by Don Johnson).  And while the first half of the film was all about the taut build-up of potential violence, the second half holds nothing back, releasing the tension with an onslaught of bone-snapping, head-stomping brutality.

“…a guiltily fun (if wince-inducing) rollercoaster ride of a movie…”

The second half of the film is not only brutally violent, but it’s also ridiculously over-the-top in a way that suggests that writer/director S. Craig Zahler had his tongue firmly in his cheek.  As a result, although the violence is graphic and gory, you can’t say that it’s gratuitous or excessive, as its excessiveness is the entire point.

This is the sort of film that clearly won’t appeal to everyone, and it clearly isn’t trying to.  But if you can get on board with its sensibilities, Brawl in Cell Block 99 is a guiltily fun (if wince-inducing) rollercoaster ride of a movie, and certainly unlike anything else you’ll see this year.  I, for one, will definitely be interested to see what S. Craig Zahler does next, and it’s also fair to say I may never look at Vince Vaughn in the same way again.