“Brawl in Cell Block 99,” a neo-noir action thriller starring Vince Vaughn, has entered the Top 10 on Netflix in the US this week (Jan. 29th), according to FlixPatrol. According to the specialized website, the film is the tenth most watched on the platform right now.
Directed and written by S. Craig Zahler, the film follows Bradley Thomas (Vaughn), a drug mule who must take out a prisoner in a high-security facility to save his pregnant wife from his drug boss. The rest of the cast includes Jennifer Carpenter, Don Johnson, Udo Kier, Marc Blucas, and Tom Guiry.
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The film was initially released in 2017, and premiered at the Venice Film Festival. “Brawl in Cell Block 99” received positive reviews, and it ended in the best of the year movies of publications such as The New York Times and Los Angeles Times.
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One of the things that made the film stand out was the fact that it was hard to classify in just one genre or visual trend. The movie combines character-driven narrative with extreme violence and grotesque effects.
In a 2017 interview with The Verge, Zahler explained that he saw “a bunch of prison movies at a retrospective in New York at Film Forum, and I thought, ‘What would I do differently with this genre? What are the strengths and weaknesses?‘” He also stated that he wanted to focus on characters, and let the film “breathe.”
When it comes to effects, he explained that all the fight scenes were “elaborately choreographed” and they used mostly practical effects because he prefers to “minimize edits.” For that same reason, he wanted a minimal score, which he also helped compose.
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On the other hand, the film was a new territory for Vaughn, who received praise for his performance. The actor, who is best known for his comedies, said that the role interested him because it was different from his previous works.
‘Brawl in Cell Block 99’ is available on Netflix.
