Lucky Break (2001 Film)

''Lucky Break'' is a 2001 crime comedy film directed by Peter Cattaneo and starring James Nesbitt. The film is a co-production between the United Kingdom, the United States, and Germany. It follows a group of prisoners who stage a musical as part of a plan to escape from jail.

Plot

James 'Jimmy' Hands and Rudy 'Rud' Guscott are two friends who used to play "Cops & Robbers" when they were young. Now adults, they plan to actually rob a bank, but the robbery goes wrong and Hands flees the bank leaving Guscott trapped behind the security shutters. Hands is caught and arrested not long later.

After being sentenced to do time in prison, Hands and Guscott make a daring escape plan as the prison is scheduled to put on a theatrical show of ''Nelson: The Musical''. Hands and Guscott plan to use the show as cover their daring break-out attempt. During rehearsals, the inmates are unable to find a pianist for the show, until one inmate, Cliff Gumbell ( Timothy Spall) volunteers and impresses them with his amazing piano skills. Hands is cast as Nelson (against his will) and Guscott is cast as Hardy, much to Guscott's dismay as his character kisses Nelson as he dies.

The escape plan proves difficult to proceed with, as one of the guards becomes very suspicious of Hands. Further complications arise when one of the more dangerous inmates threatens Hands to help him escape, as well as Hands warming to a prison employee named Annabel. During a prison visiting day, Gumbell is devastated to learn that his son is spending more time with his uncle, and that his wife is very disappointed being married to a criminal. Unable to live with the shame, Gumbell commits suicide in his cell.

The night of the show arrives, and the escape plan is put into action. However, the dangerous inmate is tricked into going over the 30-foot prison wall and falls down the other side, where he is captured. Hands and Guscott are about to escape when Hands reveals his intentions to stay because of his feelings for Annabel. Guscott reluctantly lets Hands go and escapes with two other inmates, one of whom has a friend who arrives in a plane to help them escape.

Back in the prison, one of the guards resigns from his job over frustration of the inmates escaping and becomes a car park warden. Hands is later released from prison and starts a new life with Annabel.

Cast list

* James Nesbitt as James 'Jimmy' Hands / Lord Nelson in Show
* Olivia Williams as Annabel Sweep / Lady Hamilton in Show
* Timothy Spall as Cliff Gumbell
* Bill Nighy as Roger 'Rog' Chamberlain / King George III in Show
* Lennie James as Rudy 'Rud' Guscott / Hardy in Show
* Ron Cook as Mr. Perry, the Guard
* Frank Harper as John Toombes
* Raymond Waring as Darren
* Christopher Plummer as Graham Mortimer
* Julian Barratt as Paul Dean
* Peter Wight as Officer George Beorge Barratt
* Celia Imrie as Amy Chamberlin
* Peter McNamara as Ward
* Andy Linden as Kenny
* Ram John Holder as Old Billy Morris

Production

Development

Director Peter Cattaneo began developing ''Lucky Break'' in 1998, following the success of his previous film, ''The Full Monty'' (1997). The idea was sparked by a real-life story about a musical staged inside a prison. Cattaneo collaborated with screenwriter Ronan Bennett to create a script that combined the structure of a prison break with British comedic sensibilities. The narrative was built around a group of inmates who use a prison musical as a cover for their escape plan.

Music

Integral to the plot was the fictional production ''Nelson – The Musical'', a comedic send-up of naval heroism staged by the inmates. Composer Anne Dudley, who had previously worked with Cattaneo on ''The Full Monty'', was brought in to create the music. She collaborated with writer and actor Stephen Fry, who contributed lyrics and helped develop the satirical tone of the musical sequences.

Research and pre-production

In preparation for filming, the cast and crew undertook research to better understand the prison environment. Visits were arranged to Wandsworth Prison in London, where actors observed daily routines and inmate behavior.

Casting

Casting for the film was completed ahead of principal photography and featured a strong ensemble of British talent. James Nesbitt was cast in the lead role, supported by Olivia Williams, Timothy Spall, Bill Nighy, Lennie James, and Christopher Plummer. According to Cattaneo, many of the actors were enthusiastic about the opportunity to perform in a prison-set musical comedy, which offered a fresh twist on familiar genre tropes.

Filming

Principal photography began with location shoots across the United Kingdom. Exterior prison scenes were filmed at Dartmoor Prison in Princetown.

Reception

''Lucky Break'' received mixed reviews from critics.

On the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a 48% approval rating based on 44 reviews, with the consensus reading: "''Lucky Break'' fails to do anything new with ''The Full Monty'' formula." On Metacritic, it has a weighted average score of 48 out of 100 based on 22 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews."

Dave Kehr of ''The New York Times'' criticized the film's tone and direction, writing, "Mr. Cattaneo restricts himself to the smiling blandness that has become the stock-in-trade of British comedies made for export, turning in a film that is forced, familiar, and thoroughly condescending."

Michael O'Sullivan of ''The Washington Post'' offered a more measured response, noting, "Apart from the déjà vu all over again, ''Lucky Break'' is no worse a film than ''Breaking Out'' (1999), and hat filmwas utterly charming."

Writing for ''Variety'', Derek Elley commented that the film is " ained to the floor by a script that isn't particularly funny, direction that goes for realism rather than stylization and an almost complete lack of comic timing."

References

External links

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{{Peter Cattaneo

2001 films
British crime comedy films
American crime comedy films
German crime comedy films
2001 comedy films
British prison films
American prison films
Film4 Productions films
Miramax films
Paramount Pictures films
Films directed by Peter Cattaneo
Films scored by Anne Dudley
2000s English-language films
2000s British films
2000s German films
2000s American films
English-language German films