Other Titles • Lucky Break • Our Lucky Break (2000) • Lucky Break - Rein oder raus (2001)
Synopses for Lucky Break (2001)
1.
Peter Cattaneo's Lucky Break is a likable comedy that suffered by being compared with his earlier hit The Full Monty, but is attractive enough in its own right. Charming, incompetent bank robber Jimmy Hands (James Nesbitt), five years into a 12-year sentence, puts together an escape plan that exploits the desire of the stage-struck prison governor (Christopher Plummer) to see his musical about the life of Nelson performed. The plan gets ever more complicated as he finds himself wanting to wreck the career of a bullying prison officer, trying to outwit an unpleasant thug who wants to supplant his original accomplices, and weighing the idea of escape at all against his growing relationship with anger-management trainer Annabel (Olivia Williams).
This is an intelligent caper film with some underlying serious tones. Jimmy slowly comes to realize that crime involves mixing with some unpleasant people. The backstage musical stuff--with its wonderfully fatuous ex-Cambridge director and a score just the right side of dreadful--is hilarious, and the plot's convoluted central scam is efficient as it plays out. If there is an overall failure, it comes from the clash between the film's farcical elements and the bittersweet quality of its central relationship, as well as Timothy Spall's portrayal of the victimized Cliff. --Roz Kaveney
2.
When a bank robbery goes bad, would-be robbers Jimmy (James Nesbitt) and his pal Rudy (Lennie James) find themselves in prison. The prison's warden (Christopher Plummer) just happens to be an amateur playwright who has just finished "Nelson--the Musical," a production based on the life of Admiral Nelson. Jimmy and Rudy agree to star in an all-inmate staging of the play after they learn that it is to take place in the prison chapel--a place where they believe they can make a breakout to the outside world. Along the way, Jimmy also begins to fall for the in-house anger-management counselor (Olivia Williams). Mike Leigh regular Timothy Spall also stars in this comedy from the director of THE FULL MONTY.
3.
From the Director of The Full Monty, Lucky Break is a comedy about a prison escape with a musical twist. Small time crook Jimmy botches a bank robbery, lands in prison and stages a musical play that turns out to be Act One of the perfect escape plan. But it's Act Two that's stumped Jimmy. His leading lady has captured his heart, and with one leg already over the wall, he's got to come up with a new ending...as the curtain falls fast on his freedom.
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