Review of Midnight Express (1978) by Deb S — 20 Feb 2010

Billy Hayes (Brad Davis), a young college student studying abroad in Istanbul, Turkey is about to return to the United States. Just when he was about to board an airplane though, there's just one minor problem.

Hayes finds himself surrounded by Turkish police, who suspect that he might be a terrorist. He isn't of course, but while searching him, they find him in possession of hashish. Hayes was convicted of attempting to smuggle hashish out of Turkey and sentenced to four years imprisonment...

This is a cinema classic, up there w/ the likes of Cool Hand Luke and The Shawshank Redemption. Newcomer Brad Davis is simply wonderful. He gives a truly powerful performance as a young man who while incarcerated endures harsh conditions, brutal prison guards, physical beatings, and corruption in the judicial system. This man may not speak the country's language, but it doesn't stop him from knowing what's going on and what's happening to him.

What Hayes did was wrong and he deserved to be punished b/c he did commit a serious offense. Yet it is a true testament to Davis's talent that we find ourselves empathizing w/ Hayes. We see numerous instances of Hayes breaking down both physically and mentally. We see him reduced to a mere skeleton of himself, unable to even speak coherently. Yet, despite all that, we also find ourselves rooting for him. We find ourselves rooting for him to stand up to the system b/c he is a human being. Everybody has rights and even prisoners deserve to be treated w/ a modicum of dignity. The system can take away his freedom, but they cannot take away his soul.

One of the most powerful scenes in this movie, and one of the most powerful scenes I've seen period in films, is when Hayes believes he's about to leave prison b/c he only has 53 days left to serve his time. However, his original sentence of four years incarceration was appealed by the prosecution and the court decided during the appeal to extend his sentence to a 30-year term of imprisonment instead. Watching Hayes's reaction to the court's decision for an extended sentence is a gut-wrenching and heartbreaking moment. His subsequent plea to the court for mercy -- and understanding -- is an unforgettable scene. Perhaps this is a bit personal, but hearing his plea really impacted me. It's easy to tell somebody, particularly somebody who's in a bad situation to just "hang in there." But you don't know what's it like to be in that person's shoes. No matter how hard you try, you cannot truly understand what's it like unless you've experienced it yourself. In the above referenced scene, Hayes already spent three and a half years for a serious crime. He has paid his debt to society. For him to have to spend another twenty more years in prison b/c of a prosecutorial whim -- that is not justice, that is cruel and unusual punishment.

It's an absolute shame that Brad Davis did not go on to have a more successful film career b/c he is truly a wonderful actor and deserves better.

I think this is an important movie that I highly recommend to everybody, especially those who are interested in human rights, the judicial system, and human interest stories in general.