Escapist, The (2008) Movie Script

[reflective acoustic guitar music]
# #
# When they poured
across the border #
# I was cautioned to surrender #
# This I could not do #
[buzzer sounds]
Five minutes.
# I took my gun and vanished #
# I have changed my name so often #
# I've lost my wife and children #
# But I have many friends #
# And some of them are with me #
# An old woman gave us shelter #
# Kept us hidden in the garret #
# Then the soldiers came #
# She died without a whisper #
# There were three of us
this morning #
# I'm the only one this evening #
# But I must go on #
# The frontiers are my prison #
[clock ticking]
[ticking stops]
[buzzer sounds]
End bell.
Where's Frank?
Alarm!
[alarm blaring]
[clock ticking]
Drop.
Drop.
Drop.
[alarm buzzing]
Gate!
[indistinct conversation]
You made yourself a friend.
[whistles]
Best have order.
And we're off!
[all shouting]
There's a handicap!
This one's missing a leg!
I'm good for two on red.
Too late, Frank.
Runners are on the track.
Then give them back.
Sorry, Frank.
You owe the bank.
[laughs]
Transfer?
I'm out, Frank.
Just like that?
All right.
Where's Hedge?
You not see him?
He's out the door.
Is he?
You're next, Lenny.
If they were soft on him,
things look good for you.
I mean, it's not likely
they're going to split up
such a formidable partnership,
now, is it?
Drake!
Get your fucking hands off me!
Hedges!
Hedges!
Catwalk!
Single file at all times.
Boo!
Hello, brother.
Come on, let's get 'em,
let's get 'em.
You been smoking, Tony?
Let me have one of 'em.
Come on, you have all of them.
Someone's been feeding you.
No.
Course not.
You sure?
Let me have one of them pussies.
Let me have one of them pussies.
Come on. Come on. Come on.
Let me have one.
Let me have one.
Pussies!
[playing silly, upbeat organ music]
# #
[whistles]
Nice!
[men cheering]
Yeah! Yeah!
[laughs]
Pussies!
Pussies!
Pussies!
Pussies!
Yeah, you gorgeous.
You, that's right.
Have a good look, yeah?
Next time I see you,
you'll be against
the fucking wall, mate.
Against the fucking wall, yeah?
Pussies!
Pussies!
Pussies!
Pussies!
Pussies!
Pussies!
This is your cell.
This is your bunk.
This is your cell mate.
[buzzer sounds]
James Lacey.
Lockdown.
Lockdown.
[doors clanging]
Perry.
Mail.
Stare at something else.
[footsteps]
Lights out.
[lights clanging]
[faint clanging]
[man whistling]
You thinking about me, pussy?
Yeah, I know you are.
[faint pounding]
[indistinct shouting]
[man whistling]
[groans]
[muffled footsteps]
[muffled voices shouting]
Prisoner 24484, Brodie,
absent from cell.
Prisoner 27103, Lacey,
absent from cell.
Prisoner 23410, Perry,
absent from cell.
Prisoner 26423, Drake,
absent from cell.
Prisoner 26135, Batista,
absent from cell.
You come at the wrong time.
Chapel's closed.
Perry.
Aye, it's been a wee while.
I'll be right outside.
This is very hard.
But I just have to see her.
[wood creaking]
[humming]
It's feeding time, Batista.
[buzzer sounds]
Book.
Book.
Magazine.
Give me a card.
Come on, I want a card, Batista.
Just give me one.
Just give it to me.
Go beg your brother.
[buzzer sounds]
Do you good to wait a while.
He's getting cocky, Rizz.
He's laughing at me.
Come on, you know he does it.
You know he does,
you know he fucking does it.
Get out. You heard me, Tony.
Now, get out.
Batista.
Come with me.
Your choice.
Tony said I was...
- Tony...
- Shh, shh, shh.
[groans]
Checkmate.
That's the first time in 11 years.
Another game, Frank?
[laughs]
Lacey?
Have a wander.
I'm not really in the mood.
Have a wander.
[metal clanging]
[water spraying]
Five minutes.
What?
The air vents in the laundry.
Would they connect to a sewer?
Come again?
The back of the dryers.
Would they connect
to the sewer system?
Frank, what's going on?
My first letter in 14 years...
telling me
our little girl's a junkie.
Her heart's stopped twice.
She's... she's not...
I mean, is she...
No.
Until it happens again.
I got to see her.
I got to make things right.
Frank.
I want out, Brodie.
Not in a month.
Not six.
Now.
The air vents in the laundry,
do they connect?
Frank, now, you're not
thinking straight.
Does it connect?
I'm not asking again.
Yeah.
But the air vent, it'll be capped.
You won't get through
solid steel.
Lenny Drake can.
Lenny Drake?
He's walking in a few.
His parole's been revoked.
Hedges grassed on him
for early release.
Well, suppose you got by
the dryer cap?
I mean, the vent'll only take
you as far as the perimeter.
As soon as you surface,
you'll be picked up.
That's why I'll go deeper.
No, I'm not going back down there.
I'm telling you, you don't have to.
Jesus, Frank, now,
you know why I'm in this dump.
Would you listen?
I want you to tell me,
not take me.
- I can't tell you.
- Fuck.
I can't even draw you a map.
Is your mind made up?
Frank?
Without me,
you'll be lost in minutes.
Stare at something else.
[men hollering and whistling]
I'm not in the mood
for a chat today.
I can understand that.
Cunt snitched me out.
Well, I tell you,
nobody was more surprised
than I was.
He walks early,
and I get nailed for Gomez?
So I murdered a guard?
But Hedges,
fucker was holding him down.
When I walk out that door...
Suppose I could get you
out the door, Lenny.
Don't fuck with me, Perry.
I told you, I'm not in the mood.
What would you prefer to smack?
That bit of leather,
or your number two?
Smack?
I had something more brutal
in mind.
You walk through walls, Lenny,
and that's useful.
Is it?
Say we talk,
and you're not interested.
Well, it goes without saying,
we never talked.
Yeah, it goes without saying.
[men shouting indistinctly]
Frank.
[approaching footsteps]
Domino.
Three players.
All right.
Barriers?
One.
Two.
Three.
Locks?
Bolt and key.
No chance.
I'm a thief, not a magician.
There is another way.
How?
Shower drain.
Directly above.
It's the same problem above.
And more barriers.
Only one:
chapel wall.
It'll take all night.
Ever considered confessing?
Back of the confessional.
Panel's loose.
And the chapel door?
What about tools?
The Lord...
provides.
[buzzer sounds]
[clock ticking]
[wood clunking]
Domino.
First hammer on tile,
the screws will come running.
Alarms would be louder.
- Who sets them off?
- We do.
When they cotton
onto us missing.
It's an obstacle course as it is.
If they're onto us from the off...
We'll be over the drains
when the alarm goes.
By the time they leave the Spur,
we'll be in the laundry.
How long have we got
before they're in the laundry?
Five minutes, tops.
[sighs]
It's enough.
All right.
Next piece.
The dryer.
- Locks?
- Older than me.
Yeah, but what about the cap
on the vent?
You don't worry about that.
I'll sort my end.
Yeah, yeah, I do worry.
Have you got something
that cuts through steel?
I got whatever it takes.
Lights out.
Lights out.
Five minutes of your time,
Two Ton?
I think I may have found you
a challenger.
Domino.
From the minute we're inside,
you breathe.
You don't talk.
That far underground,
banter echoes.
Ignore your thinking.
It'll only be playing tricks.
Things are different down there.
The laundry vent
will take us to here,
top of a sump.
Then we go deep.
There's a drainage tunnel.
Now, we're going to need
to get through that.
After that...
as far as the river.
What river?
We're south, remember?
I can't swim.
No.
We go under it.
There's a reservoir,
under the embankment.
It connects to the rail network.
Once we're on the tracks,
all roads lead to Rome.
Charing Cross.
That's where we surface.
Why so far north?
There's got to be stations closer.
Plenty of exits.
Easy to disappear
if we hit rush hour.
No, before rush hour.
The track goes live at 5:00.
630 volts.
If we're not on the platform by then,
we're tap dancing.
How do you know all this?
How's he know all this?
Because I shoveled shit
down there for 12 years.
Oh, busman's holiday for you then.
Okay, how much time?
End bell rings at 9:00.
That gives us
eight hours end to end.
When do we go?
How much do you need?
Three days.
That's good for me.
Then Friday...
...we go.
Oh, one more thing.
Just make sure
you don't get murdered tonight.
[muffled shouting]
There you go.
Proof that David and Goliath
is cock and bullshit.
Wouldn't be too sure.
[metal screeching]
You drop something?
Didn't see you there.
No, you didn't.
Fancy yourself, do you, Frank?
What?
You got permission?
You don't.
Fuck.
Fuck.
That's not gonna make Rizza happy.
Trouble is, I open my mouth,
he's likely to piss in yours.
I could sort something, yeah?
Avoid any trouble.
What?
Don't run, Frank.
Don't run.
I can run faster.
Rizza gets wind of this,
he's gonna to make sure
you don't go anywhere
unless you sort me out.
Yeah, that's right.
You off your nut?
First bell tomorrow, Frank.
In your cell, Frank, yeah?
First bell.
Drop it!
Don't you do this!
I will not let you fuck this up!
[door swings open]
Fish and chips drowned in vinegar.
How about that?
You got to be
looking forward to that.
Huh?
Park bench, first day of summer,
nice large portion
of fresh battered cod,
wrapped in newspaper,
watching beautiful girls jog by.
You know what I mean?
No.
You all right?
What?
Tony.
- Fuck.
- What?
How the fuck did he find out?
What's he want?
Half a key.
Half a fucking key?
What's that,
a bit a grand's worth?
We got options.
Yeah, I suggest the option
that murders him.
And have Rizza on our backs?
Not a chance.
Tony's untouchable.
Not Tony,
Batista.
We get rid, then pocket his stash.
What do we do then?
We look under his mattress?
Check in his pockets?
The fella's got an operation
going on.
Do you not think
he's smarter than that?
Prick's not made
of fucking kryptonite.
Nobody's getting their hands
bloodied for Tony.
Nobody.
Are you calling it?
No.
So?
What if a ticket out
is worth something to Batista?
[grunting]
[metal squeaking]
[humming]
Shh!
[muffled shouting]
Half a key?
And you want me to give it to you?
No.
It's a trade.
Who else is going?
Brodie.
And Lenny Drake.
Lenny Drake.
Half a key of kat
cleans me out for a month.
Tony knows that.
So Tony's got a taste for it.
He think you'll kill me for it
or steal it.
Which puts me in a coffin,
or worse if I don't deliver
for Rizza.
Besides, if Tony knows,
then Tony knows.
He's the devil on your back now.
But if you want to trade,
I'll give you a trade.
Kat's a dangerous drug
but deadly when poisoned.
You got it?
If it looks, smells,
and tastes like kat...
Who will know?
No one touches Tony.
- Rizza would...
- Rizza?
Who's gonna tell Rizza?
Junkies die every day.
All right.
That's a trade.
Shit!
Brodie, wait!
[screams]
[loud rumbling]
Brodie...
[buzzer sounds]
Lights out.
Smoke?
That was the last time I saw her.
She'll be 21 tomorrow.
# He took a knife #
# and he cut her down #
# And in her bosom #
# these lines he found #
# Oh, what a foolish girl #
# was I #
# to hang myself #
# for a butcher's boy #
# Go dig my grave #
# both wide and deep #
# Put a marble stone #
# at my head and feet #
# And on my grave #
[mournful string music]
# #
# I died for love #
[bell ringing]
This is cozy.
You should wrap a blanket
around him, Frank.
He looks cold.
Give us a minute.
No.
No, he stays.
I like his company.
Got something for me,
have you, Frank?
What's Sikes doing here?
Call it peace of mind.
How do I know
you'll keep your mouth shut?
You're lucky
you're still fucking standing.
I need a guarantee.
You need what?
It's a trade.
I want a guarantee
you'll keep your mouth shut,
or else there's no deal.
You don't make rules.
Hmm?
Yeah.
Have a burn.
Rizza!
[labored breathing]
Rizza!
Stan?
[alarm blaring]
It's okay, kid.
It's okay.
It's okay.
It's okay.
[knocking on door]
Open the door!
Do it, Perry, now!
Frank.
Frank?
I see something.
What?
Look.
What the...?
What, he came out of nowhere?
What, you couldn't do a thing?
Well, he's a walking corpse now.
- We all are.
- Why?
The kid did the job for us.
Soon as he finds Sikes,
Rizza will get wind of the plan.
Rizza's upwind.
The only thing he knows
is Tony took a fall.
And Lacey?
What happens to him now?
He won't be in the hole for long.
Rizza will make sure of that.
We leave him to Rizza?
Which weighs more, Frank?
A ton of bricks...
or a ton of feathers?
He's a dead man
with or without us, Frank.
[music box plays]
So we leave tomorrow, as planned.
Where are you going?
It's been a while
since my last confession.
[groaning]
Leave it.
Leave it.
4:00 a.m.
Let's move.
We got one hour
before the tracks go live.
Shh!
Listen.
[dogs barking]
[men shouting]
They've found us.
Let's move!
There's no air!
I can't breathe!
Keep moving!
[gas mask hissing]
[bell ringing]
[approaching footsteps]
Hello, Frank.
Hello, Rizza.
I was sorry about your brother.
Why's that?
Did you kill him?
Well, I had no reason.
Oh, there's always reasons.
He was a junkie.
He was a cunt.
No one liked him.
Don't smoke, Frank.
Don't like smoke around me.
You got family, Frank?
Yeah.
Any young?
Oh, she's a gorgeous one.
Do you love her?
Family's important.
About the only important thing.
So I'll only ask once.
I won't ask again.
He was taunting the lad.
He had a thing for him.
Tony was over by the doorway,
making moves on him.
Sikes... pulled him
from the doorway.
I heard them arguing, fighting.
After a minute,
the whole Spur was quiet.
You don't have much.
Yet you just subtracted
from what's left.
Rizza.
You lie to me one more time...
They're bringing your boy
out tonight.
I want him in my cell
before closing time.
You bring him.
You got one thing
going for you, Frank.
You're too old to die young.
[knocks on door]
[door swings open]
[door shuts]
You all right?
No.
He's all right.
[groaning]
You stay with us, Frank.
You ready?
Gate!
Perry.
Batista.
Mitra.
Parkhurst.
Visiting room.
Wait, Frank.
Let's move.
Any minute,
the tracks will be live.
Frank!
Frank!
Let's move, now!
[buzzer sounds]
[grunting]
Help me!
Go! Go! Go!
Move!
Move!
Sit down.
Where are you from, lad?
London.
Old Street.
Old Street?
I can't remember my street.
[buzzer sounds]
Rizza's waiting for you,
in his cell.
Wants me to take you there.
Go to the chapel, lad,
before the end bell...
and make your confession.
Give this to Brodie.
I don't understand.
Yes, you do.
Why me, Frank?
You remind me of someone.
# When they poured
across the border #
# I was cautioned to surrender #
# This I could not do #
[buzzer sounds]
Five minutes.
# I took my gun and vanished #
# I have changed my name so often #
# I've lost my wife and children #
# But I have many friends #
# And some of them are with me #
# An old woman gave us shelter #
# Kept us hidden in the garret #
# Then the soldiers came #
# She died without a whisper #
# There were three of us
this morning #
# I'm the only one this evening #
# But I must go on #
# The frontiers are my prison #
# Oh, the wind,
the wind is blowing #
# Through the graves
the wind is blowing #
# Freedom soon will come #
# Then we'll come
from the shadows #
[clock ticking]
[ticking stops]
Where is he?
You know, I must have read
this book about a dozen times.
If I had my time again,
if I could start over
like re-reading this book,
there'd be someone
I'd sit down and talk to.
I'd talk some sense into him,
tell him how things really are.
But I can't.
That man's long gone,
and I'm all that's left.
End bell.
Where is he?
But do you know something?
I'm free now...
like my little girl.
Free?
You've got an imagination.
Imagination's what protects us.
It's what keeps us alive.
You're still living,
but less and less.
Inside, you own this place.
You run things.
You're the king.
But look around you,
what do you see?
It's all pretend.
It's all made up.
You own nothing,
nothing except cells, bars,
and a rusty metal staircase.
You'll never live,
because outside,
you don't exist.
No one will remember you,
no one.
You behave yourself.
Behaving myself is
what's kept me living this long.
You tell me where he is.
Lacey?
Oh, he'll be all right.
He's gone, Rizza.
What did you say?
Gone.
Where's Frank?
The lad's free.
Don't you walk away from me.
It's like you said...
I'm too old.
[gasps]
Alarm!
[alarm blaring]
Frank?
Frank!
[gears winding]
[coughing]
[hinges groaning]
[music box playing]
[Batista humming]
Brodie...
Frank.
Frank.
Frank!
There's no air!
I can't breathe.
Breathe!
You stay with us, Frank.
Stay with us!
Come on, Frank.
Come on.
Zoe. Zoe.
Zoe.
We're free.
# And #
# In the end #
# We lie awake #
# And we dream
of making our escape #
# And #
# In the end #
# We lie awake #
# And we dream
of making our escape #