Screwed

5.6
2011 1 hr 50 min Action , Crime

The film is a semi-biographical story based on the experiences of former prison guard Ronnie Thompson who spent seven years working in some of the UK's most dangerous prisons. Based on Thompson's book of the same name, the project stars James D'Arcy (Master & Commander), Noel Clarke (Kidulthood), Frank Harper (The Football Factory), Jamie Foreman (Layer Cake), Andrew Shim (This Is England) and Kate Magowan (Stardust). The story revolves around former soldier Sam Norwood who takes a job as a prison officer when he returns from Iraq and becomes exposed to the underworld of prison culture - including corrupt guards and drug trafficking.

  • Cast:
    James D'Arcy , Noel Clarke , Frank Harper , Kate Magowan , Jamie Foreman , Doug Allen , Ray Panthaki

Reviews

VividSimon
2011/06/03

Simply Perfect

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AnhartLinkin
2011/06/04

This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

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Robert Joyner
2011/06/05

The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

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Quiet Muffin
2011/06/06

This movie tries so hard to be funny, yet it falls flat every time. Just another example of recycled ideas repackaged with women in an attempt to appeal to a certain audience.

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bowmanblue
2011/06/07

Our homemade 'Brit-flicks' do try to do their best to be labelled as 'gritty.' Seeing as we haven't got the budget, the stars or the special effects of Hollywood, we have to try and be a bit more true to life in order to stand out. Screwed does its best to achieve this.An ex serviceman takes on a job as a prison warden in order to make ends meet in civilian life. That's the basic plot. You probably know what to expect - prison beatings, dodgy dealings and plenty of back-stabbing. It might be as cheeky as a Guy Richie film or as deep and dark as the more recent 'Tyrannosaur,' but to be fair, Screwed delivers on all of this.Its gritty and grim and it does its best, however it does suffer from a few one-dimensional characters, spouting clichéd lines that you could probably write yourself.Is it worth watching? Yes, if you like prison dramas. Its major plus point is the menacing Noel Clarke, playing a (yet nastier) version of his Kidulthood former character.Give it a chance. It's not bad. But I do wonder how long Ronnie Barker and his Porridge inmates would have lasted here (and they thought Mr Mackay was bad!).

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Spikeopath
2011/06/08

If ever there was a wasted opportunity to add another Great British prison movie to the roster headed by Alan Clarke's incendiary Scum, then Screwed is it. The credentials were promising. Based on the real life memoirs of Ronnie Thompson, an ex squaddie who post a tough tour of duty joined the prison service and apparently found another kind of war on the inside, and the adaptation to screen is headed by Brit thespian bad boys Noel Clarke, Frankie Harper and James D'Arcy. Yet what unfolds for the duration of the pic is the standard raft of clichés we movie fans have seen time and time again.There's some early promise that maybe this will have something to say as regards a returning war veteran, hints that the screenplay will have caustic asides on the British penal system – and the problems inherent within our prisons, but it never delivers, instead choosing to macho everything up in such a fanciful fashion you have to wonder exactly what is actually based on facts? There's also the small matter of the fact the whole picture plays as very similar to Phil Davis' excellent 1995 football hooligan movie, i.d. Only there it was an undercover policeman getting in feral with his work, here it's a prison officer doing likewise. There's even a sex scene that is lifted straight from Davis' movie.Having not read Thompson's book, "Screwed: The Truth About Life As A Prison officer", something which I intend to correct in the immediate future, I can't vouch for the veracity of this adaptation to screen. However, the film feels empty, like it's following a guide book written by the British press on how they "think" our prisons operate, fuelling the horror fire of what filmic adaptations over the decades have led us to believe are regular occurrences. Only Thompson knows the truth, both of his experiences and of how his book has been translated on screen, but all things considered it's a lazy same old same old film. 5/10

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OJT
2011/06/09

An Irak veteran takes job as prison guard after returning from the war, still bothered with memories from the war traumas. The veteran, Sam Norwood, knows his stuff, but are soon realizing that the prison is not run the way it should. It seems that it's not easy to please all ways. Does he have the backing needed by his superiors?The film is great played, very real and believable, like most British films. You could hold Against it that the film is Being more than an action flick. It's also loaded with realism back home. There's also an excitement lingering and true enough, you never can be sure what you get into at this station. Being based upon real events, making base of a novel, and with this film following, I can't say anything else that I really enjoyed the flick.This film is better than it's rating here at the moment, and is well worth a watch.

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James Toole
2011/06/10

What a powerful insight into a World behind bars. D'Arcy, Clark & Harper were superb in portraying the realism of life on the wrong and right side of the law. Although this film was rated as an 18 due to it's language and violence, Travis shows the brutality, but cleverly leaves the outcome to our imaginations without ramming it down our throats. Very watchable, the way the narrative switches between D'Arcy's character Sam and his home/work relationships is riveting, drawing the audience in, making us ask ourselves what we would do in a time where money doesn't come easy and more people are turning to drugs hoping to lose themselves in the darkness. A nice film to high light the dangers of crime and how easily people can get trapped and enticed, but good prevails in the end.

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