'Escape at Dannemora' director Ben Stiller ensures suspense in an already sensationalized story with subtly crafted montages
Prison break thrillers based on true incidents often fall prey to exaggerations, or simply - for the lack of a better word - over sensationalizing. But Ben Stiller's ongoing dark portrayal of the infamous Clinton Correctional Facility escape cancels out the scope for sensational portrayals with its multitude of montages slowing things down to maintain a sublime balance. The fact that the real story of prison inmates Richard Matt (Benicio del Toro) and David Sweat's (Paul Dano) elaborate escape was cut out for a Hollywood story to be shown on screen, also works in favor of the new Showtime show, 'Escape at Dannemora.' Yet all that aside, it is truly remarkable what spacing things out with a series of shots as the plot progresses can do to make an already intriguing story all the more captivating.