September 9, 2015

No Escape: Family Seeks Safe Haven in High-Octane Political Thriller

movie rev

LET’S GET OUT OF HERE BEFORE WE GET KILLED: The Dwyer family led by Jack (Owen Wilson, left) who is holding his daughter Lucy (Sterling Jerins) and his wife Annie (Lake Bell), who is carrying Beeze (Claire Geare) flee to the roof of their hotel as the beginning of their perilous flight to a safe sanctuary at the American embassy. (Photo by Roland Neveu- © 2015 The Weinstein Company. All Rights Reserved)

After the company he works for files for bankruptcy, Jack Dwyer (Owen Wilson) accepts a position overseas with Cardiff, a transnational water bottling corporation. Dwyer regrets that his new job will uproot his wife, Annie (Lake Bell), and their young daughters, Beeze (Claire Geare) and Lucy (Sterling Jerins). During the long flight to Southeast Asia, we find the girls fretting about whether they’ll like their new home and if their dad’s new company will go bankrupt.

Luckily, Beeze strikes up a conversation with a fellow passenger (Pierce Brosnan) about his assortment of curious face and body scars. Fortunately for them, the mysterious stranger, Mr. Hammond, happens to be quite familiar with the family’s destination point.

Upon landing at the airport, he helps them avoid the shady street hustlers lurking around the terminal. Instead, he directs them to an honest cabbie (Sahajak Boonthanakit) who takes them to what they expect to be comfortable accommodations.

However, shock sets in when the Dwyers’ check into the Imperial Lotus hotel where nothing in their suite seems to work: their cell phones, the land line, the TV, not even the lights. Still, those inconveniences pale in comparison to the threat to their very existence as a result of the coup d’etat in which the country’s prime minister (Vuthichard Photphurin) is assassinated.

In the wake of the murder, gangs of rebels start roaming around the country looking for Westerners whom they lynch on the spot. To the Dwyer family’s horror, the marauders are going door-to-door right inside their hotel.

As a stranger in a strange land with no links to the outside world, Jack realizes that he has to rely on his wits to save his family.

He decides to seek sanctuary at the American embassy, which is easier said than done because the streets are crawling with Yankee-hating insurgents. Nonetheless, with the gangs closing in, he leads Annie and the girls to the roof of their building to begin their perilous journey to the embassy.

Directed by John Erik Dowdle (As Above, So Below), No Escape is a high-octane action thriller that keeps you on the edge of your seat because of the Dwyers’ close brushes with death at every turn. There are convincing performances from Owen Wilson, Lake Bell, Claire Geare, and Sterling Jerins as the terrified family, along with Pierce Brosnan.

Excellent (****). Rated R for profanity, graphic violence, and rape. Running time: 101 minutes. Distributor: The Weinstein Company.