Akilla's Escape

Released Jun 11, 2021

1 hr. 30 min.

Crime

Drama

Mystery & Thriller

List

79%

48 Reviews

Tomatometer

46%

Fewer than 50 Ratings

Audience Score

A drug dealer finds his moral code challenged when he interrupts an armed robbery and captures one of the gang members who is a 15-year-old boy.

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Premiered Jan 04

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Critics Consensus

Akilla's Escape occasionally loses sight of its strongest assets, but solid acting and a smart story make this a neo-noir worth watching.

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Audience Member

A hauntingly beautiful tale of redemption and fatherhood. Saul Williams is a movie star. Highly recommend. Take it in.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/27/23

Full Review

jason m

Saul Williams' aging, world-weary face and the cinematography make this watchable, but the writing is basic, riddled with cliches and all-too-familiar tough-guy gangster posturing.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Pretty conventional on many levels and on most of its story beats. Has some good acting and ideas but it's stuck in usual gang story.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/04/23

Full Review

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Charles Officer

Director

Saul Williams

Akilla

Thamela Mpumlwana

Sheppard

Donisha Rita Claire Prendergast

Faye

Vic Mensa

Prince

Olunike Adeliyi

Thetis

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Whelan Barzey

Time Out

It’s an uneven puzzle: eye-catching but not entirely convincing when put together.

Rated: 3/5

Jul 25, 2023

Full Review

Leslie Felperin

Financial Times

The editing and cinematography are heavily stylised, which can make the film feel like a flighty distended music video at times, but Williams and Mpumlwana’s alert, compelling performances keep things grounded in grit.

Rated: 3/5

Aug 25, 2022

Full Review

Phil Hoad

Guardian

It’s all not quite enough to get Officer’s film to live up to its pretensions, which are also present in the overlong opening credits discoursing on Jamaican history and corruption; themes hinted at later but which never entirely bloom.

Rated: 2/5

Aug 23, 2022

Full Review

Edward Porter

Sunday Times (UK)

Williams is a strong presence, but the story’s elements — past and present — blur together in a monotonous whole.

Rated: 2/5

Sep 13, 2022

Full Review

Josh Parham

Next Best Picture

The themes explored lack nuance, the storytelling doesn't craft an engaging pace, and the performances are near-universally bland.

Rated: 4/10

Jun 5, 2022

Full Review

Filipe Freitas

Always Good Movies

The final moments are not quite convincing, denoting fragilities in the execution, but the director's formidably hopeful message sticks in our minds.

Rated: 3/5

Jun 28, 2021

Full Review

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Synopsis

A drug dealer finds his moral code challenged when he interrupts an armed robbery and captures one of the gang members who is a 15-year-old boy.

Director: Charles Officer
Executive Producer: Martin Katz
Screenwriter: Charles Officer, Wendy Motion Brathwaite
Distributor: Vertical Entertainment
Production Co: Canesugar Filmworks
Genre: Crime, Drama, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jun 11, 2021, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Jun 11, 2021

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