Review of Brubaker (1980) by Kevin R — 30 Jun 2010

There's a disease growing in here.

Brubaker is the new warden for a southern prison. Before he joins the prison as the warden, he allows himself to be administered into the prison as a supposed inmate. He quickly identifies areas for development within the prison and then identifies himself to the prison staff as the new warden. Brubaker moves forward with making changes at the prison and quickly receives pushback from the good old boys. Can Brubaker really make a difference?

"Do you know what I'd like to do to her?".

"Yeah, I know what you'd like to do.".

"You're wrong. I just want to talk.".

Stuart Rosenberg, director of The Pope of Greenwich Village, The Amityville Horror (1979), Love and Bullets, and Murder Inc, delivers Brubaker. The storyline for this picture is interesting and compelling. The characters are well presented and Robert Redford delivers an outstanding performance as Brubaker. Aside from Redford, the cast includes Morgan Freeman, David Keith, Jane Alexander, and Val Avery.

"I'm getting ready to be angry with him. I'm getting ready to be real angry.".

Brubaker is a film that fascinated me based on the cast and plot. The storyline was interesting and well delivered and the fact this was a true story was even more fascinating. While the acting and plot carried this film, this picture was also well paced despite having a run time over 120 minutes. I recommend giving this movie a shot.

"You start wars and let other people fight them.".

Grade: B+.