Most of the films Barry Spikings made at EMI Films seemed to be financed with the Oscars in mind. This did do wonders for the career of Sean Penn, who is very good as a crook in juvey, but it's not much of a movie.
It's based on old Warner Bros crime films, with a modern juvey twist. So all the cliches are there - tough kid but hopeful of reform, evil other gangster (Esai Morale), sweet girl (Ally Sheedy), girl is raped by Morales (an unwelcome new twist), Morales winds up in the same prison. There's a gruff warden, an ex gang member turned counsellor (Reni Santoni), a wisecracking ethnic sidekick for Penn, an escape, a sadist prisoner.
Fine acting. Morales has a lot of charisma, ditto Clancy Brown, Sheedy very likeable.
No sound track surprisingly. Maybe this would've worked better as a black movie. Rick Rosenthal doesn't make the material come alive.
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