Review of Midnight Express (1978) by Jim H — 05 Aug 2012

An American gets caught smuggling hashish and is sentenced to an interminable prison term in Turkey.

If you want to see a film about a man getting tortured for two hours, then this is the film for you!

I am selling the film short with that opening line, but the sentiment - that films should be about more than just shock value polemics - stands in relation to Midnight Express, In the world of Oliver Stone's script no Turk is a good Turk, and their system of justice is as outmoded as their restrooms. There are a few scenes in which the main character, Billy Hayes, struggles to maintain his sanity, and scenes like these are reasons to watch prison dramas because how one maintains sanity in such an environment is interesting; however, these scenes are too few to be a consistent thematic thread.

John Hurt is good, especially his mourning of his cat, but Brad Davis, whose performance has been universally praised, was horrid. His "you're all pigs" speech was melodramatic and over-played, and all of his torture sequences felt fake.

Overall, a good prison drama like The Shawshank Redemption is a film that becomes about more than just prison and has a fine performance to carry it forward; Midnight Express has neither.