Poster Artwork
During a casual walk-through of the prison where Juan is begin working at the next day, some loose cement in the ceiling collapses, slamming into his head and injuring him. Forced to drag Juan’s body to the nearest empty cell, the guards must abandon the young employee when a riot sparks off and a wave of violence forces them to flee for their lives.
Shortly after being pulled to safety, Juan awakens in the cell to the shouting of the bloodthirsty prison population swarming the halls and realizes he’s as good as dead if he’s discovered fully clothed, looking like a guard. Stripping himself of all personal items that may reveal his identity, his only means of surviving this ordeal may be to convince the leader of the riot, a psychopathic lifer named Malamadre (Bad Mother), that he’s just another prisoner.
Despite his curious presence, Malamadre and his crew hesitantly bring Juan into the fold but forces are at work from within and without the prison walls to end the riot and expose Juan. Can the young guard hide behind the facade of a murderer or will the facade threaten to overwhelm and transform him?
As the riot turns bloody and the violence reaches a crescendo, Malamadre and Juan must come to terms with who they are, what they want and how far they’re each willing to go to see their destinies through.
Folks, recently I’ve been on an action film jag and Cell 211 sounded intriguing so I figured I’d give it a shot. Believe it or not I’m the kind of film geek that actually seeks out films based solely on their status as being distributed by IFC Films because they’re generally on point with their cinema. My slavish devotion pays off once again as Cell 211 was unbearably tense; a few times I was forced to divert my attention elsewhere in order to let off some steam. There’s no comedic relief or goofy street hood camaraderie, from start to finish the characters in Cell 211 are terrifyingly real and ready to snap at any second. Director Monzón never lets up, he just continues piling tense moment upon another until you begin feeling like any second our protagonist will meet his demise at the end of a homemade weapon.
In my opinion this film would never have worked as well without two men, Luis Tosar (Malamadre) and Alberto Ammann (Juan Oliver). These guys were mesmerizing in their roles as each man takes on opposing sides of hope; one has everything to look forward to while the other is faced with spending his natural life behind bars. As each man finds admiration for one another, the bomb drops and Juan’s secret threatens to bring both men to their knees before the entire prison population, the prison staff, the government and even the Basque terrorist organization ETA!
There’s no spoiler here concerning Juan’s secret, so no worries, because we all know from the start that eventually his true identity will be revealed, the real questions are when and what price will he pay once those closest to him find out they’ve been deceived. Gut-wrenching drama to be sure but, trust me on this, it just wouldn’t have worked without Tosar; the guy is absolutely chilling as Malamadre, he’s like the Spanish version of American actor Kevin Gage!
Whether prison flicks are your thing, you have got to see this film! The emotion is raw, the brutality is never over-the-top but remains very much so rooted in reality and there are some agonizing twists and turns that will leave you breathless. I’d recommend this as a rental or a purchase.
