The Escape (2017) Online

It's one of those films that portray an emotion or situation you have to be familiar with in order to truly appreciate it's beauty.

The cinematic portrayal of depression at it's finest. The feeling of entrapment in a life that feels like there isn't an escape, the feeling of despair, the fear of pursuing your personal happiness at the cost of another persons happiness. These were artistically portrayed very intimately, and I really appreciated that. It was well executed.

Great performance by Gemma Arterton, there were some scenes in the beginning that gave me shivers.

A lot mixed reviews for this title, and I understand why. People who have experienced a similar situation would resonate with this film very much. One of the reviewers called her motives unrealistic and selfish, that 'every mum' goes through this. That's untrue, every person is different. Every situation is different. Some people love their roles of being mothers, and go through their life without a care of other possibilities. Some people enter motherhood ambitious, not realizing the sacrifice. The sacrifice of personal accomplishment and meaning. And I feel like this is what the film was trying to portray.

A film not for everyone, but for those who do resonate with it will appreciate it.

Granted the first 20 minutes is overly long explaining Tara's life and state of mind. The scene in the car park of the multiple mum's, with toddlers and shopping trollies was enough to do this! I also found some of the editing and photograpy a bit irksome e.g. some point of view shots. In the end though, I could relate to both characters and this is why I enjoyed it.

Gemma Arterton who plays Tara was great. Stripped of make-up, she was stark but utterly graceful. As W.B. Yeats would say "A terrible beauty is born."

For the record, this is my first review and I am not involved in the film in anyway!

I have never watched anything this well directed for this type of context. Yes its about the 'typical' problems inherent in marriage but that's a very small part of it. For me, this film isn't just about that, it's more about, without generalising, how the character, the woman, the mother, the stay at home housewife, the dedicated family being, had to find herself again. What stands out throughout the film was that she was very much aware that she had lost something, that something wasn't right. You could see that from the very beginning. And what it comes down to is: Is it time to leave? (As opposed to: can I leave?)

What I believe should be the focus of principle here is that while there are various externalities that result in the making of a being as it is, marriage and it's societal demands of its participants have remain unchanged for a while. And In this film, Gemma was indeed tired of being the unappreciated housewife and sex doll of sorts. That's not a pleasant experience for anyone, I can imagine.

And so I rated this film a 10/10. The close ups are too real...nothing felt like acting to me while watching the film. It's real. It's real for someone.

This movie is basically a hyperbolic perspective on everyday boredom mixed with some pocket philosophy on braking free from it. The dialogues are poorly written, all of the characters are self-absorbed and shallow and the best idea they could come up with for the grand escape is a superficial enamorment with medieval tapestry, eating pancakes in Paris or screwing a photographer. It's well shot though.

A woman with an absolute ar*e of a husband gets up the courage to escape despite any emotional/maternal feeling she has left for her children. I applaud her courage. No one should live in a life where they are emotionally and physically abused, a life that makes them constantly depressed and feel worthless. Too many people take abuse and never get out of that situation. Gemma Arterton is a goddess, even when she is (very realistically) portraying someone who hates all aspects of her situation. For those viewers who say she should stay in that situation, shame on you - enablers are almost as guilty as the abuser.

I related to this woman's role, as I lived it, but unlike the character in the film, I, and most other women, don't have the financial freedom to make such a choice. What we see in the film is pretty much a typical marriage with small children. The wife is unhappy and unfulfilled. The husband is pretty much oblivious to her emotional needs, while expecting sex on demand. The other aspect of this story is the abandonment of one's children. One could also argue that paired with that impossible decision is the fact that she has a comfortable home, a faithful husband who is a good provider. Many women stay just for the security. One could surmise the woman is just being selfish, not willing to make the marriage work. One could also argue she is very brave, but are the sacrifices worth it? The film doesn't make this clear in the end.

..yea, spoilers I guess.. not lots to spoil..

..she's got a husband offering only unemotional sex (unsatisfying for her) .. and wants her to be only a homemaker in addition.. ..she wants more intellectual & personal challenges, and she's very depressed .. (to her, he's uncaring, distant, boorish, and selfish-in-bed)

..so she runs off (on a one-way ticket) to Paris.. ..picks up a guy in a museum ..right off has what looks like satisfying sex with him.. .. then next morning discovers he's married ...she's married.. he's married.. both have kids ..he tells her it's complicated with his wife.. she says get lost

..she's depressed (again).. and guilt-ridden (this time for real) ..while having a mental breakdown out on the street ..she meets an older woman that rescues, mentors, and tells her ..to change completely her life.. try changing it with him (the husband) ...and if that doesn't work.. then change it w/o him (hint)

..hubby goes to meet her.. they hug w/o saying a word.. ..look on her face says.. I'm sorry, but we're over.. and they travel back

..next scene, she's in her own personally-decorated flat .. (across from Trattoria Mondello in London).. ..getting ready, and goes out (like on a date?) ..she's forlorn upon hearing children playing in a park nearby.. ..(seeing as she must have given hers up by now.. she thinks of them) ..then she gathers her composure, turns with head up, and walks briskly away.. the end

..so it seems, this is much more than your average mid-life crisis.. ..in that she definitely doesn't want to be married to him anymore.. ..'and' apparently doesn't want custody of the kids either..

..all actors are okay in their roles.. no big challenges, but satisfying work ..kinda interesting 100 minutes.. she's by far the best part of the film..

..most of this genre of films are about the man walking out on the family.. ..here the young wife & mother.. not being able to cope any longer ..needs to 'escape' by herself.. and now awaits her new life

..hey.. it's the movies.. .

I think EVERY mum feels like this at some point. I know I felt let there had to be more to me than just a mum. Life does get small, boring routine when you have a child(ten). It's just not everyone can afford to make a choice like that. A single mum can't just walk out on her life. Maybe change the title to "The Daydream of Escape" By the time she's in the park in Paris, I actually felt angry that she could be so selfish. All in all this film shows a woman who runs away in a fantasy, tries to forget who she was only to have a giant slap of reality across her face.

Artherton plays a mum, daughter and wife going through depression and wanting more. Most women will be able to relate to her situation and how she feels. Trying to keep a smile on her face through her every day but feeling exceptionally unhappy, she runs away to France to seek a new life whilst still living with the depression and guilt of leaving her life behind. Will she return to her unhappy life or start over again elsewhere?

This is a poignant film that leave you feeling sorry for all involved.

No story. Self indulgent. No dramatisation. Peopled by caricatures. Who put the money up for this movie?

It's a long slow haul. The dialogue appears to be improvised, which I imagine is supposed to make it sound realistic but instead adds to the overall tedium. I don't think the husband is a b*****d, he's just out of his depth. You'd think she would start by at least turning the radio on at home or watching a bit of TV in order to give herself a bit of company; She doesn't interact with any of the parents or teachers at the school, she just wallows in her own self pity and doesn't think to medical help. The Paris sequence is laughably unrealistic and the denouement leaves us guessing - not that I cared much by that stage. (Incidentally where is the garden square she wanders around at the beginning and end of the film? It doesn't appear to have any connection with the estate where they live.) Gemma Arterton suffers nobly but she's one of the executive producers, so she has to take a share of the blame for this unconvincing farrago.

Is awful... can't act. Give it a rest please. The whole thing is slow, stupid and awful.

Not much to say. Writer/director - argh! - who thought he had a good story because his only previous experience of 'story' was reading cereal packets!

If you don't walk out or switch off after the most boring first 10-15 minutes in movie history, you'll fall asleep before the end.

Okay performance from Gemma Arterton can't add anything to this - there's no substance here at all to add anything to!

The movie is SO SLOW and boring. There are no sympathetic characters. I would have walked out but my wife wanted to see it. There wasn't even any gratuitous nudity to hold my interest. I've liked Gemma Arterton in the past in movies like Tamara Drew, but she was wasted in this movie. Don't waste your time.

Never been more disgusted by any choice of any character in any movie and ive seen tons!

I cant believe that any mom, no matter how much is she fed of her daily routine would leave like that!

That is seriously f'ed up. They can divorce , they could get a nanny and she could do something that makes her happy , but her decision is sick wrong by any means and that is the 1st movie that made me feel super super annoyed and angry :(

Went to see this yesterday with a friend who gets 2 for 1 on cinema tickets. Not my choice but I've been pleasantly surprised in the past by films I wouldn't have watched but for other's choices. Never posted a review before - however, after watching this I felt the need to inform others. Well acted? Yes. Well shot? Yes. Interesting story? No. I'm sorry, but this film is depressing. I've read other reviews suggesting a feminist agenda, but I saw it as a rather sad story about a person who doesn't know what she wants from life -whatever it is, it's not what she's got at the time. Even down to the last couple of minutes when she seems finally to have what she wants but realises it's still a daily routine and in addition she misses her children. I'm a woman. I've had children. I've been a stay at home Mum. I've felt like she feels, on occasion, but I could not feel any empathy with her as she didn't try to help herself other than to run away, when there are so many other options when you are as financially secure as she seems to be. The obvious one is to tell the husband he's surplus to requirements, find childcare and get a job. Or at least talk to someone - preferably a professional - about how you're feeling. 'Educating Rita' was much better...

I actually finished the movie, but I was disgusted by the story, how can she do that?

The last scene suggesting Tara ends up with divorce bring us the value that "Why can't a woman be truthful to herself? It's not just a man's right to do that," challenging the taboo that" as a woman you're not supposed to leave", especially in this case, to leave your children.

The silent tragedy of a married woman who has lost the connection with Her Self. At first glance Tara seems to have achieved everything a woman could dream of - 2 healthy children, a house, a loving husband. But (like everyone of us) intuitively she knows that there is something else to aim for. I would like to quote Jim Carrey who said: "I think everybody should get rich and famous and do everything they ever dreamed of so they can see that it's not the answer." So, what is THE answer? The puzzling answer that can give authentic meaning of our life? Obviously finding a French lover in Paris is not the right decision. The ultimate escape is not a romantic escapade! Here is where the tapestries' symbolism comes at play. There is an old Chinese proverb saying: The body is a city with five gates - eyes, ears, nose, mouth, touch. These five doors lead the Spiritual energy outside, there is only one door, a small opening - the door of consciousness that lead us inside. Only when we enter inside ourselves we can reach freedom. Thus the only way out is in. That's the true escape/liberation. The sixth tapestry is called "À mon seul désir" meaning that if we want to meet our true Self, we must apply true intent. This is the symbol of consciousness knowing itSelf (God). IMHO "Knowing the Self" was not the intended meaning of the movie, it's only my personal interpretation based on the tapestries' symbolism.

Poor, poor thing - how rottenly life has treated her. Could we see something of her husband's exciting and exhilarating life at work, and how he's got away with all the good stuff? No - I forgot: feminism says that whatever women suffer is far worse than what men do. Poor dears.

I suppose the title is a spoiler in itself... but I really did like the film a lot until the ending which I felt was a copout. The film was well acted; I felt the pain of the character played by Arterton throughout. It's the housewife/mother's dilemma we feminists identified decades ago: many or even most women won't be satisifed "just" keeping house, raising their children and keeping their man happy. No, a woman needs meaningful activity in her life in which her thoughts and creativity can be used. This is what Arterton's character was missing and seeking.

It was interesting if not obvious the way the older French woman who "rescues" her at the end tells her to "try to make your life work with your husband and if that doesn't work, make it work without him." Well, yes, and early on in the film the husband does give the wife this opportunity. When she was just discovering how sad and unfulfilled she was, he, apparently sincerely, tells her, "Just tell me what you want. I'll do anything for you." If only she knew enough at that point she could have said, well here's a list of what I want and need." But as in real life, things aren't usually that tidy or easy. So she had to go through running away and meeting a cad of a man in order to realize that she already had enough good in her life to work with. I would have loved the movie even more if the ending had been more definitive. Instead, it does a kind of "We've come full circle" thing in which we're left to surmise what the main character does next.

Talk about a movie about a spoiled existence. Woman has beautiful home, loving husband, great kids, a great social life if she wants it, even small opportunities to be a positive influencer in her community, but she takes the easy way out and just shuts down. Then, of course, follows up with the next step seeking the easy/better fantasy across the tracks or wherever. Maybe she should try a bit of reality being a female in Afghanistan.

Daytime soap level acting & script.

This movie reminds me of a poem by Constantine Cavafy called "The City".

This is a great movie - slow, maybe, but there is enough on-going conflict to keep it moving ahead. Brilliant acting - Gemma Arterton's performance is outstanding. Would definitely recommend and I'll be watching it again.

Any film with frances barber in it needs to be binned. She can't act and is a has been