REVIEW: Escape at Dannemora

Should you watch Stan's new prison drama starring Patricia Arquette and Benicio del Toro? - by Gavin Scott

In this week's episode of WHO's TV podcast, Binge List, we discuss new Stan prison drama series Escape at Dannemora. Starring an almost unrecognisable Patricia Arquette, who plays prison employee Tilly Mitchell, it commences with Tilly being questioned about her possible role in the escape of two inmates - and her sexual involvement with them. She denies the claims. The story then flashes back to a few months before the escape, and we see that Tilly, who is married to another prison worker, isn't exactly the most truthful of people.

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Told over eight episodes, released weekly on the streaming service, Escape at Dannemora is based on real-life incidents that took place at Clinton Correctional Facility in the town of Dannemora, New York in 2015. Directed by Ben Stiller, the slow burn drama depicts a world that is mostly fairly miserable. The inmates and prison employees have little to be cheerful about, and the landscape of the prison is bleak and covered in snow.

As such, you won't be tuning in for uplifting moments or to be wowed by visual effects. What will keep you watching is the story. How did the two men get out of the prison, how involved was Tilly and what happened once they escaped? It's a complicated, intriguing tale that is all the more fascinating because it actually happened.

Escape at Dannemora

Stan

Portraying the escapees are Benicio del Toro, who plays convincted murderer Richard Matt, and Paul Dano as David Sweat, also a killer. Despite their crimes, Tilly becomes intimately involved with first one and then the other, while Richard, who is top dog in the prison, discovers a potential way out.

Listen to the latest episode of Binge List (below) to hear more about Escape to Dannemora. Two episodes of the series have been released on Stan so far, with more dropping each Sunday.

Gavin Scott

A pop culture enthusiast from a young age, Gavin is equally passionate about great pop music (’80s synthpop, ’10s dream pop), gripping TV series (Friday Night Lights, The Handmaid’s Tale) and trips to the cinema (I love a blockbuster as much as anyone, but I’m done with the superhero thing).

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