Papillon (2018)

Review

133min

Genre:       Fact-based, Crime, Drama

Director:    Michael Noer

Cast:         Charlie Hunnam, Rami Malek, Roland Møller…and more

Writers:     Aaron Guzikowski, Henri Charrière, Dalton Trumbo…more

-Synopsis-

Accused of murder and imprisoned on a brutal and remote penal colony in 1930s French Guiana, Henri Charrière endures the hardships of his sentence while making enemies and forming an unlikely alliance of convenience, as he plots yet another daring escape . . . and faces the consequences—in this second screen adaptation of the semi-autobiographical novel by Charrière himself.

It’s always a risky proposition to remake or re-adapt a nuanced story previously immortalised on celluloid, as ‘Papillon’ was in 1973 by Franklin J. Schaffner and messrs McQueen and Hoffman, and it offers little reward when it has no franchise potential, or is unlikely to capture the imagination of a new generation. Yet undeterred, Danish director Michael Noer (R, Northwest) brings his attuned crime drama sensibilities to this classic prison break odyssey, tale of human spirit and unlikely friendship—staying true to the story’s European period roots but adding a 21st century level of grit . . . with decidedly mixed results.

Charlie Hunnam stars as Henri ‘Papillon’ Charrière himself, a butterfly-tattooed petty Parisian criminal who graduates from thievery to murder when he’s falsely implicated in a local death, sentenced to life imprisonment and hard labour in a South American colonial prison. When he meets fellow inmate Louis Dega (Rami Malek), a meek counterfeiter with deep pockets in need of protection, the two form an unlikely alliance of convenience which turns into something greater, as they conspire with shifty fellow jailbird ‘Celier’ (Roland Møller) to escape—under the threat of solitary confinement, transfer to the notorious ‘Devil’s Island’ . . . and even execution.

There are several elements which qualify ‘Papillon’ as a semi-biographical film, and they go beyond the artistic license which prevents this adaptation from being any more historically faithful than the classic 1973 version. Indeed Charrière’s story, or at least his recounting of it, has always been questionable and contradicted by conflicting accounts, and even by declassified French government records—so for us this harrowing story of will and survival is always emotionally tempered by the uncertainty of fiction vs. fact.

In visual terms ‘Papillon’ is an expertly crafted picture, boasting high quality production designs and appropriately ragged costume work to recreate both Paris and rural French Guiana, and reflect the harsh realities of colonial prison life in the early 20th Century. It’s all beautifully shot by German cinematographer Hagen Bogdanski (The Lives of Others, The Young Victoria) who captures the unforgiving tropical and coastal beauty of the European locations which seamlessly double for South America.

If there’s one thing that made the original 1973 adaptation so successful surely it was the on-screen chemistry between McQueen and Hoffman, in part created by an on-set tension and rivalry between the two screen legends. And Hunnam and Malek share their own undeniable chemistry in this version, breathing life into a friendship of convenience forged under inhumane circumstances which became something deeper, even faintly emitting some very subtle homoerotic undertones—and all achieved without a hint of star conflict . . . which in retrospect may have been a missed opportunity.

The film’s two leads both deliver strong and subtle performances, bringing to life two very different personas—one a bird that can’t be caged, the other a sedentary soul—who develop an unexpected bond and become somewhat kindred spirits—but this ‘Papillon’ offers little beyond their characterisations. While it serves as a reasonably engrossing recounting of an extraordinary tale of will and survival for the uninitiated, and a more dynamic and sombre retelling for those familiar with it, ultimately it fails to move or completely capture the imagination, rendering it another unnecessary remake of a classic, and given that it’s partially based on Lorenzo Semple Jr. and Dalton Trumbo’s original 1973 screenplay . . . to us it is a remake.

Yet despite being fundamentally limited as remake or new adaptation of a great 20th century tale, ‘Papillon‘ does have its merits and just about manages to stand on its own feet. Michael Noer’s sombre human drama just about sells the human suffering and manages to work as an ode to the plight of the prisoner, humanising those that although far from innocent and certainly no angels, don’t deserve cruel and unusual punishment—in synch with the often misquoted Dostoevsky line “the degree of civilization in a society can be judged by entering its prisons”.

The Bottom Line…

Whether seen as a remake of the classic 1973 film or a new adaptation Charrière’s memoirs, ‘Papillon’ struggles to truly move or completely captivate as a human tragedy, or do justice to an extraordinary prison escape odyssey, but manages to scrape by as a gritty ode to the lowly prisoner and a solid character drama, thanks largely to the performances of its two leads.

Similar films you may like (Home Video)

Midnight Express (1978)

A young American tourist becomes a Turkish convict when he’s caught trying to smuggle hashish out of Istanbul in the early 70s, plunging him into a nightmare with no end in sight, testing his very sanity and will to survive . . . and escape, in this classic screen adaptation of the autobiographical novel by Billy Hayes.

Directed by Alan Parker and starring Brad Davis, Paul L. Smith and John Hurt among others.

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