Wasteman: Review
The Long Walk vs The Hunger Games
Head to any British school playground 10 years ago, and chances are that ‘wasteman’ is the insult you’d hear being thrown around most frequently. Just like its title, this old school, distinctly British prison drama feels like a throwback to a bygone era. Simple but highly effective, it’s a film that does exactly what you’d expect - but does it well.
In typical prison drama style, our protagonist Taylor (The Long Walk’s David Jonsson) is a reclusive parolee who tries to keep to himself. Addicted to drugs and doing time for an unmentioned crime, he’s given the promise of an early release... if he can just keep his nose out of trouble. When the swaggering, defiant Dee (Tom Blyth from The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes) joins as his new cell mate, this looks like an increasingly tall order.
From first-time Director Cal McCu, the following film is focussed and stressful, hinging on the uneasy friendship between these two very different men. As Dee runs a drug operation out of their cell, it leads to inevitable complications with a rival gang, which reaches a predictably tense collision course. If this doesn’t sound wildly original, the truth is it isn’t. The script, written by Hunter Andrews and Eoin Doran, borrows from other brutal prison dramas like Scum and the BBC series Time, offering a few laughs but not a lot that feels new. There are interesting stylistic choices - a slow motion drug montage, random phone recordings from inmates - but these sit rather awkwardly within the tone of the film.
What gives the film its edge is the complex and ever-changing relationship between Taylor and Dee, and two equally magnetic lead performances. Quiet and tortured, Jonsson’s performance endears you to the plight of his character, particularly as he fails to connect with his son on the outside. He shares wonderful chemistry with Blyth, who delivers a performance both highly volatile and strangely likeable. A heavily-tattooed top dog who becomes dangerous when his alpha status is threatened, he provides a complex portrayal of a character who could have been a one-note villain. It’s a film that recognises that prison is a knife-edged battle for survival, but that humanity is in anyone if you look hard enough.
It’s about as subtle as a sock full of snooker balls, but this is still a fierce and hard-hitting prison drama, elevated by strong performances from Jonsson and Blyth.
★★★★