Escape from Pretoria (Escape From Pretoria) is a 2020 British-Australian crime action thriller film directed by Francis Annan from a screenplay by Francis Annan, L. H. Adams and Tim Jenkin (inspired by his novel). The film was released on movie platforms and in the United Kingdom on 6 March 2020.
In 1978, Tim Jenkin (Daniel Radcliffe) and Stephen Lee (Daniel Webber) were arrested for distributing anti-apartheid propaganda and sentenced to 12 and 8 years in prison respectively. In prison they met other political prisoners, including Dennis Goldberg (Ian Hart), who warns them of the dangers of attempting to escape.
However, Jenkin and Lee, along with another prisoner, Leonard Fontaine (Mark Leonard Winter), begin planning a daring escape. Using his carpentry skills, Jenkin creates wooden keys that allow them to unlock various doors in the prison. After months of preparation and several test attempts, the three manage to escape at night, overcoming numerous locked doors and guards. After their escape, they leave South Africa and continue their fight against apartheid from abroad.
The film highlights themes of political resistance, personal sacrifice, and the quest for freedom. Through its realistic depiction of prison life and the intense planning of an escape, Escape from Pretoria offers a compelling look at the fight against injustice.
The film received mixed to positive reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, it has an approval rating of 73% based on 44 reviews, with an average rating of 6.4/10. The critical consensus reads, "'Escape from Pretoria' doesn't quite capture the depth of the true story it dramatizes, but that shortcoming is more than made up for by the suspenseful prison escape action." On Metacritic, the film has an average score of 56 out of 100, indicating "mixed or average reviews".
The film is based on the true story of Tim Jenkin and Stephen Lee, two white South African anti-apartheid activists who escaped from the maximum security Pretoria Central Prison in 1979. The film is an adaptation of Jenkin's autobiographical book,„Inside Out: Escape from Pretoria Prison„".
