Papillon Movie Review

Papillon (2017)

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Written by: Aaron Guzikowski (screenplay by), Henri Charrière (based upon the books "Papillon" and "Banco" by), Dalton Trumbo and Lorenzo Semple Jr. (based upon the 1973 screenplay "Papillon" by)
Directed by: Michael Noer
Starring: Charlie Hunnam, Damijan Oklopdzic, Christopher Fairbank, Rami Malek
Rated: R
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Plot
Wrongfully convicted for murder, Henri Charrière forms an unlikely friendship with fellow inmate and quirky convicted counterfeiter, Louis Dega, in an attempt to escape from the notorious penal colony on Devil's Island.

Verdict
You can't help but root for a person wrongfully imprisoned. It's a simple, but effective premise. The story is engaging and the cinematography is beautiful. This is one of those movies you could pause at almost any scene and get a great image. Everything in this movie works in concert to provide a well made movie that entertains from start to finish. Charrière's will to escape is never diminished. At first it seems he's trying to correct an injustice and return to his 'old' life, but by the end of the movie he's trying to prove he can conquer an impossible system of repression.
Watch It.

Review
This is based on Charrière's 1969 memoir and the 1973 movie starring Steve McQueen and Dustin Hoffman. Papillon is French for butterfly which is what's tattooed on Charrière's chest. It's a prison tattoo that indicates Charrière is a thief.

The first scene is Charrière (Charlie Hunnam) in a cell. It's a flash forward without telling us that. He's a cocky thief, and that's likely why he's in a cell. The movie wastes no time putting him in prison, giving us just enough information about his life and why he was arrested. We assume he was wrongly imprisoned.

Charlie Hunnam plays Henri 'Papillon' Charrière

This prison is a harsh place. If you tried to set this prison in present day, it would really limit your locations as prisons don't explicitly try to break prisoners like this anymore.

Charrière buddies up to a rich counterfeiter, Louis Degas (Rami Malek) to aid in his escape. He's in a hopeless situation where escape seems impossible, but we assume he will try anyway. This is a movie about surviving, doing whatever it takes in the cruelest of circumstances. Papillon's first escape plan seems a bit brash, and he ends up in solitary. There it's the little things to survive. Just food can make a difference, but as quickly as it provides hope, it's gone.

Rami Malek, Charlie Hunnam play Louis Degas, Papillon

The movie does a great job of capturing the feeling of isolation and loneliness in the cell. Even if we suspected Papillon was guilty of the initial crime, you'd root for him in this impossible situation. The warden wants to break him, but we hope he can survive this cruel punishment.

Papi's punishment spans years, but as soon as he gets back out, defying the odds by surviving that long, he's planning to escape again. Our expectations are low just because of this prison and its location.

At first the movie seems to insinuate that Papi wants to escape because he was wrongly imprisoned and he wants to return to his life. After so much time passes in this movie, it seems he's escaping to overcome injustice or just to prove he can. The warden wonders what keeps Papi going, and I think it's that will to win. Papi wants to conquer an unbeatable system. I want him to succeed because of and in spite of the long odds.

I thought this movie ended so well, but then we get one more scene. I really thought this was a mistake at first, but the movie makes a great point with this scene.

This movie puts us in an unfamiliar world and provides a main character we hope can win. It's a simple formula that works well. This is a period piece that starts in the '30s. While the movie accurately portrays the time period, it also has amazing cinematography. There are so many shots that look absolutely great. I like this movie a lot, more than I thought I would.