Papillon

I haven't seen the 1973 movie Papillon starring Steve McQueen and Dustin Hoffman but I went to see the remake last night.  This movie tells the incredible true story of Henri "Papillon" Charierre (Charlie Hunnam), a safecracker in Paris during the 1930s who is framed for murder and sentenced to a penal colony in French Guiana.  He immediately decides to try to escape, despite the threat of solitary confinement, and forms an alliance with Louis Dega (Rami Malek), a wealthy convicted forger.  Dega, who is mild-mannered and weak, offers to finance his escape in return for protection and Papillon must go to great lengths to keep him safe.  Conditions are brutal and, after several failed attempts to gain their freedom, they are finally transferred to Devil's Island from which escape seems impossible.  What elevates this movie from the standard tale of survival is the unlikely bond of friendship between the two men.  Papillon is often punished for fighting while defending Dega from attacks, suffers intense deprivation while in solitary confinement because of him, and is captured again because he will not leave him behind.  After all of that, Dega provides Papillon with the will to survive after he arrives on Devil's Island a broken man.  I found the relationship between the two men to be very compelling and both Hunnam and Malek give great performances.  The action is intense and harrowing and, while some of the scenes are difficult to watch, I don't think the violence is especially gratuitous and the cinematography is surprisingly beautiful in its brutality.  Since I've not seen the original, I can't speak to how this one compares but I think it is pretty good and I recommend it.