A Prayer Before Dawn [2017]

August 30, 2024

Every once in a while, there comes a movie that reminds you just how much you love movies. And it does so almost unintentionally. It pulls you in, offering not just a compelling cinematic experience but something much, much more. Among those things is a break from your ordinary life. An opportunity to just be a witness, an appearance in your conciseness as the moving pictures and yourself become one. You might go so far as to say that this is what making love with a movie feels like. And if you’re not going to go so far, I will. At this point, you might be wondering what kind of movie this is.

It surely must be some science fiction masterpiece or an eighties oddity. Nope, the movie we’re going to be talking about today is nothing like that. A Prayer Before Dawn is an incredibly immersive and gripping prison movie set in Thailand and based on a true story. It follows Billy Moore, a British lad with a propensity for drugs, crime, and fighting. Trying to escape the life of crime, Billy ends up in Thailand, hoping to perfect his boxing skills. However, he ends up in one of the worst prisons in the entire country. What follows is an intense tale that only real life can write. I want to emphasize the word intense. Mostly because this is one of those movies that don’t shy away from the difficult stuff.

There won’t be that much graphic violence or gore, like in Riki Oh: The Story of Ricky. You actually might want to check out that oddity to negate the sheer impact of Billy’s adventures in Thailand. The difficult stuff I’m talking about is much more harrowing and it tends to stick in your mind long after the movie is over. I mean, I think you already have an idea about what’s going to happen in the sweaty, crowded, and hellish Klong Prem prison. Safe to say I won’t be fucking around with anything illegal in Thailand. Luckily, they’ve legalized weed recently so that’s about it for me. Now, all I have to do is get there.

To stay on that subject for a while, don’t think that the same stuff doesn’t happen in the UK, US, or anywhere else in the world. I don’t want to get too bogged down in this prisons around the world discussion as I merely wanted to say that this says nothing about Thailand as a country or its people. The first thing you’re going to notice when you play A Prayer Before Dawn is just how immersive, atmospheric, and visually stunning it appears. The story takes place in Thailand, the dialogue is mostly in English and Thai, the lead is from the UK, and the director is from France.

Jean-Stéphane Sauvaire is one of those directors with a knack for authenticity. His first big movie was Johnny Mad Dog, following a group of child soldiers in Liberia. And I highly recommend you check out his latest movie, Asphalt City. It’s about two burnt-out paramedics, starring Sean Penn and Tye Sheridan. Just think of it as an updated version of Scorcese’s Bringing Out The Dead. Wow, five paragraphs in, and I have yet to mention the fact that this is also a martial arts movie. It’s not exactly Kickboxer but there’s a decent amount of fights and training. If you’re a fan of the genre, the words prison fight might remind you of the Undisputed franchise or any other number of similar movies.

Jean-Claude Van Damme stars in at least two of them (In Hell, Death Warrant). Of course, since the story in this movie takes place in Thailand, the style is Muay Thai. The approach to these scenes is a blend of matter-of-fact storytelling and personal experience. A Prayer Before Dawn will try not only to place you in that situation but it will try to show you how it feels to be there. It is truly a stunning feat and one of the best movies I’ve seen in recent months. And I’ve seen a lot of movies during that time. The devotion to authenticity is simply mindblowing, right down to the extras.

Most of the prisoners you’re going to be seeing are real prisoners who just got out of jail. Some of the main ones actually could not attend the premiere at the Cannes Film Festival because they got locked up again. And some of the Sauvaire’s favorites for certain roles never made it to the set because of the same reason. Hell, Billy’s boxing coach, Suthin, is played by Somluck Kamsing, a man who won the Olympic gold medal for featherweight boxing in 1996. His chainsmoking certainly doesn’t help his form but it adds a certain quality to the character. Plus, I bet this is him in real life, as smoking in Thailand is considered something normal and even beneficial.

Add to all of these grimy and gritty sets and lack of any hints of melodrama and you got yourself one hell of a movie. It never lets up or lets us soak in the scenery that feels quite exotic to anyone outside of South-East Asia. It remains firmly rooted in Billy Moore’s mindset, staying true to his autobiography upon which it is based. A Prayer Before Dawn reminds me of the seventies masterpieces like Sorcerer and Papillon. And dare I say Midnight Express, although that’s a bit more melodramatic experience intended to illicit and manipulate emotions. I am yet to write a detailed examination of that movie but be sure it is coming.

I already have a title: Midnight Express: The deconstruction of the male ego. Joe Cole, whom you might remember from the television show Peaky Blinders (John Shelby), doesn’t need to film anything else after this movie. He’s fucking done it, he’s finished the game. It goes without saying that this is one of those roles of a lifetime and Joe knew it. He trained hard for several months and learned how to box. The bruises and injuries you see on him in the movie are real. And the reason for that is because the fights were real. The make-up artists actually spent more time covering up bruises than making them look worse. So, I think you now know what kind of a movie A Prayer Before Dawn is.

I just want you to know that despite its dedication to authenticity and intense atmosphere, it still has a certain magical charm. I don’t know if it’s the exotic setting, the fact that everything that happened actually happened, or something else but it’s most certainly there. From the first second, this movie is going to take hold of you and it won’t let go for the next two hours. The first 15 minutes are so incredibly jarring that you’ll think twice the next time you feel any kind of minor discomfort. Just remember Billy’s first few days and you’ll be feeling alright. And if you’re looking for something similar, do check out our Subversive Rabbit selection of Prison Movies.