Made through performances

Rating: 7/10 (24 November 2002)

'Powerful' is an understatement to describe this film. The major reason it is so powerful is because it is so long; with hindsight, one can see many of the scenes tend to drag on, to build emotion and suspense, and some perhaps too long. But at the time, it is both effective and entertaining. The movie is made largely through almost flawless performances, particularly the incredibly moving Michael Clarke Duncan as the amazing healer. The only complaints I have are Doug Hutchison as the vengeful guard Percy, who just doesn't seem quite right in some scenes and does not quite create the right amount of tension between himself, the prisoners and the other guards, and the musical score, which I feel could have been better to make a more powerful mood. The movie is incredibly moving, but the score lets it down at times. In fact, sometimes I felt it seemed to be taking more inspiration from the more frightening Stephen King-based movies such as The Tommyknockers than from a powerful movie such as this. Overall, however, an extremely effective and well-made piece of cinema.