It may be wrong, as a beloved husband finds his promising future turned into a nightmare when he is convicted of killing an intruder. At that seemingly catastrophic moment, the husband must then deal with life in a violent sanctions regime and may face many challenges through more powerful events.
Tough, brutish prison drama with an easy windup, but good acting and an uncompromising take on the prison system.
TV Guide
July 18, 2008
Kilmer and Dorff, who was also an executive producer, immerse themselves in difficult roles and the film's overall air of social commitment will surprise viewers drawn in by its exploitation-movie promotion.
Stephen Dorff's powerhouse perf as an ordinary Joe trapped behind bars with warring ethnic psychopaths propels "Felon" well ahead of its expose/exploitation brethren while still avoiding the pious learning curves of Frank Darabont's prestige prison dramas
Felon ventures outside the prison walls so often that the audience doesnâ(TM)t get a prolonged sense of the claustrophobia of confinement; the rage being displayed actually dispels the sense of isolation and boredom.
Dorff, who was last spotted as a scary sexual sadist in Shadowboxer, gives a mesmerizing performance evolving from stunned civilian to brutalized inmate and dangerous prison thug, then transforming into a tested man who rediscovers his own humanity.
Written and directed by Ric Roman Waugh, and filmed at the New Mexico State Penitentiary near Santa Fe, Felon is one of the most realistic prison films ever made.
New York Post
July 18, 2008
A good cast and disciplined direction add some distinction to Ric Roman Waugh's Felon, which is basically the old tale about an innocent man corrupted by a stay in prison.
