Film Review – A Prayer Before Dawn

Movies do not get more ferocious than “A Prayer Before Dawn.” It’s an adaptation of Billy Moore’s book, which detailed his time behind bars in Thailand, becoming the lone Englishman in a sea of locals who weren’t welcoming to the outsider. Director Jean-Stephane Sauvaire treats the source material with the utmost respect, replicating a harrowing living event with extreme attention to violence of the mind and body. “A Prayer Before Dawn” is frightening to watch but always engrossing, with Sauvaire going procedural to immerse the audience in the threats and rituals of a claustrophobic world, creating an evocative viewing experience that’s rooted in horrific encounters, but also refreshingly clear about the ravages of self-destruction, emerging as perceptive summary of addiction set in a vividly rendered Hell on Earth.  Read the rest at Blu-ray.com