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Brawl in Cell Block 99 is a 2017 American prison thriller film written and directed by S. Craig Zahler. It stars Vince Vaughn, Jennifer Carpenter, Don Johnson, Udo Kier, Marc Blucas, and Tom Guiry. The story follows Bradley Thomas, a former repairer turned drug mule who must kill a man held in a maximum security prison to rescue his pregnant wife from an abortion operation by a vengeful drug lord.

Brawl in Cell Block 99
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	S. Craig Zahler
Written by	S. Craig Zahler
Produced by	Jack Heller Dallas Sonnier
Starring	Vince Vaughn Jennifer Carpenter Don Johnson Udo Kier Marc Blucas Tom Guiry
Cinematography	Benji Bakshi
Edited by	Greg D'Auria
Music by	Jeff Herriott S. Craig Zahler
Production companies	Assemble Media Cinestate Caliber Media Company Realmbuilders Productions XYZ Films
Distributed by	RLJE Films
Release dates	September 2, 2017 (2017-09-02) (Venice) October 6, 2017 (2017-10-06) (United States)
Running time	132 minutes[1]
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$4 million[2]
Box office	$79,208[3]

Zahler wrote the script of Brawl in Cell Block 99 after watching several prison films, coming up with different elements to add to the genre. Vaughn and Carpenter were Zahler's first picks for the film's main cast, with Zahler wanting Vaughn in the film to be different from the comedic roles that Vaughn usually plays. Vaughn exercised and underwent training for the film's action and fighting sequences. Filming took place in Staten Island in New York City between August and October 2016 under a production budget of $4 million.

It was screened out of competition at the 74th Venice International Film Festival. The film was released in theaters on October 6, 2017, and on digital HD and video on demand on October 13, 2017, by RLJE Films. Brawl in Cell Block 99 received mainly positive reviews including praise of Vaughn's performance and the 1970s-grindhouse style, with the media adding it as one of the best films in the year.

Plot

Bradley Thomas is laid off from his job at an auto repair shop. When he arrives home, he finds a hickey on his wife, Lauren, who admits to an extramarital affair. Bradley orders her inside the house before he violently dismantles her car. He later discusses with Lauren their failing relationship, forgives her, and returns to drug trafficking.

Eighteen months later, Bradley and a now-pregnant Lauren have adjusted to a better life. Bradley's boss, Gil, introduces him to Eleazar, a new business associate, with a task to pick up a package of crystal meth with two of Eleazar's men. Bradley distrusts one of Eleazar's henchmen, Roman, but accepts the job when Gil offers him three months' paternity leave. When they arrive at the pier and successfully obtain the drugs, Bradley realizes it's a police trap and orders Eleazar's men to ditch the drugs. However, Eleazar's men ignore him and exchange fire with the police. Bradley, hesitant, attacks Eleazar's men; one of the men is fatally shot by the police while Roman is incapacitated. Bradley is then detained and unwilling to give out names, is sentenced to seven years in a medium-security prison.

During the night, Lauren is kidnapped by men under the orders of Eleazar. In prison, Bradley is visited by the Placid Man, a henchman of Eleazar, and is told that unless Bradley assassinates an inmate named Christopher Bridge, who is held in Cell Block 99 at Redleaf, a maximum-security prison, the limbs of his unborn child will be surgically removed by an abortionist and sent to him. Bradley reluctantly accepts and picks a fight with multiple guards until he is overpowered and transferred to Redleaf.

At Redleaf, Bradley encounters the authoritarian Warden Tuggs, who demeans him and sends Bradley to a dilapidated cell. He eventually learns from a fellow inmate who informs him that Cell Block 99 is for society's most despised criminals. Bradley then devises a plan and starts a brawl with other prisoners, resulting in him being sent to Cell Block 99 and forced to wear a stun belt. Bradley speaks to a man in an adjacent cell, who informs him that Christopher Bridge does not exist at all.

During the night, Wilson, one of the Redleaf guards, escorts Bradley to another cell within Cell Block 99, where Eleazar and his gang, including Roman, are held. They intend to torture Bradley for their amusement throughout his incarceration at Redleaf. Bradley then devises a plan and places the rubber from his shoe linings between his body and belt to prevent the stuns. He ambushes Wilson and another guard, killing the former. He later brutally kills most of Eleazar's gang, leading Eleazar to call the abortionist to start the operation. Eleazar threatens Bradley to no avail, with Bradley taking Eleazar's phone and torturing him until Eleazar calls off the operation.

The Placid Man and the abortionist follow Eleazar's instructions and drive Lauren unharmed to Gil's house. As they drive away, Gil retrieves a hidden rifle and kills the Placid Man. Lauren then takes the rifle and shoots the abortionist. Gil phones Bradley to inform him that his family is finally safe and then Bradley speaks to Lauren about their unborn child. Bradley then decapitates Eleazar in his cell. Tuggs and his guards emerge and execute Bradley.

Cast

Production

Development

The script for Brawl in Cell Block 99 was written in 2011, which was earlier than director and writer S. Craig Zahler's directorial debut Bone Tomahawk (2015).[11] Zahler came up with the concept after watching several prison films at the Film Forum in New York City, coming up with different elements to add into the genre.[11] In an interview with The Verge, Zahler explained:

Prison is such a compelling place to set a movie, because you have a bunch of hard-edged dudes confined together, and all of them are going to have interesting backstories.[12]

One of the films that inspired Zahler to create Brawl in Cell Block 99 was Riot in Cell Block 11 (1954) and he was a fan of the film's director Don Siegel.[13] All scenes of graphic violence is ingrained into the script of Brawl in Cell Block 99 and Zahler's previous film Bone Tomahawk, with Zahler being uncomfortable and wondering if he has gone too far when writing it.[14] Regarding the title of the film, Zahler remarked how he wanted to use a title with multiple meanings instead of titles with one word or two words with the word "the", exemplifying how he was underwhelmed by the title of the 2016 film Moonlight and how it felt meaningless compared to the play it was based on, In Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue.[15]

Zahler sold the script of Brawl in Cell Block 99 to several producers but progress on developing the film later stalled until Bone Tomahawk was completed.[11] Not wanting the producers to make changes to the script, Zahler had Jack Heller of Assemble Media and Dallas Sonnier of Cinestate bring back the script and allow Zahler to have full creative control over it.[11][16] He also hoped the budget for the film would be greater than the one provided for Bone Tomahawk, which he was then given $4 million.[2] Heller and Sonnier will produce it as Caliber Media while XYZ Films would be responsible for the film's executive production.[4]

Casting

On August 17, 2016, Vince Vaughn and Jennifer Carpenter signed in to play the main male lead and the main female lead respectively. Vaughn plays Bradley, a former boxer who lost his job at the garage and was sent to prison for drug trafficking, while Jennifer Carpenter will be playing his wife. In October, it was announced that Dan Amboyer would join the cast of the film.[2][9]

Vaughn and Carpenter were Zahler's first picks as the main actors of the film.[17] Carpenter initially was to be cast as the main female lead of Bone Tomahawk but was not able to appear due to scheduling conflicts.[4] Zahler has enjoyed Vaughn's performances in Swingers (1996), The Cell (2000), Old School (2003), and Hacksaw Ridge (2016) due to them feeling real rather than being acting.[2] Although Vaughn is mainly known for his comedic roles, Zahler wanted to tap into Vaughn's talent in playing serious roles. Since Vaughn is six feet and five inches, Zahler remarked: "I knew he was a big guy. I knew if I saw him on the street I wouldn't think that guy's a comedian. I would think that's a menacing looking dude."[15][17][18] Vaughn has seen Zahler's directorial debut Bone Tomahawk, and agreed to perform in Brawl in Cell Block 99 after reading its script. Vaughn remarked: "Zahler doesn’t write in a genre. He takes all of these elements and cross-pollinates them and tells a unique story."[19] Vaughn went through physical exercise to prepare for fighting sequences that are similar to "traditional Hong Kong fight movie sequences."[19] Zahler arranged for Drew Leary to be the choreographer for the fight scenes.[20]

Bradley, who Vaughn plays in the film, has a cross tattoo in the back of his head, which according to Vaughn represents Christianity.[19] Zahler hoped that people would be interested in the origin of the cross tattoo and let the world see that "this is a Vince Vaughn you’ve never seen before."[21] Vaughn previously had boxing and wrestling experience, allowing Zahler to shoot the fight scenes that he wants with as little cutting as possible. This filming style is similar to Buster Keaton, Fred Astaire, and Jackie Chan, where there is little editing as possible and allowing the actors to play in-person. Zahler states, "I don't think anyone in the world is walking out of this movie thinking, 'Oh, that was Vince Vaughn's stunt double.'"[12]

Zahler praised Don Johnson, who played Warden Tuggs: "Don does a fantastic job in bringing this character to life as someone who handles different people as an animal handler would handle different animals."[21]

Filming

Principal photography began in Staten Island in New York City on August 15, 2016, and wrapped on October 17, 2016, lasting a period of five weeks.[4][17][22] The shooting schedule was tight, with the film crew needing to shoot in multiple locations in the same day. During filming, the crew looked for new locations during their lunch break when they lost the original location. Producers Jack Heller and Greg Zuk are responsible for finding some of these locations.[2]

Cinematographer Benji Bakshi previously collaborated with Zahler on his directorial debut Bone Tomahawk. Bakshi shot the film in a 1.85:1 aspect ratio rather than the 2.35:1 ratio used for Bone Tomahawk. This is due to the primary focus on one character in Brawl in Cell Block 99 instead of an ensemble cast in Bone Tomahawk. Bakshi also used the RED Weapon camera instead of the RED Dragon camera that was used on Bone Tomahawk since Zahler found the Dragon to be visually noisier.[12] To make the film more atmospheric, Zahler and Bakshi focused on the blue tones in the early parts of the film and progressively becoming darker as the film hits the third act, giving an oppressive medieval dungeon-feel to it.[12]

Since Zahler did not want to use CG in Brawl in Cell Block 99, most of the violence and gore are done in physical special effects.[11] Zahler did not use a lot of edits, close-ups, and sound effects to make the violence as realistic and uncomfortable as possible, explaining: "I shoot violence in a really unvarnished way, without all this cinematic frosting, and there's no CG so there isn't that slight off, digital feel. It makes the impact sharper, because it’s not how audiences are used to seeing movie violence."[14] Shooting of the fight scenes is a tedious and stressful process, as actors has to rehearse multiple times and some of the mistakes are where the actors gets punched.[11]

Music

Brawl in Cell Block 99
Soundtrack album by various artists, Jeff Herriott, S. Craig Zahler
Released	October 13, 2017
Genre	Soul, Funk
Length	31:10
Label	Lakeshore Records

The film's soundtrack was composed by Zahler's friend Jeff Herriott, having previously worked together in Bone Tomahawk. Zahler has also collaborated with other artists to compose original songs, such as rhythm and blues tunes performed by The O'Jays.[19][20] The soundtrack is mainly based on soul music with a whole band of bass, drums, guitar, harp and flute, plus trumpets, strings and snare drums instead of synthesizers.[2] To meet the purpose of letting the cast act without interference, the score is rarely used in the film.[12]

Lakeshore Records released the soundtrack on October 13, 2017 in CD, Digital, and Vinyl formats.[23]

Release

The film premiered out of competition at the 74th Venice International Film Festival on September 2, 2017.[1][24] In the same month, Brawl in Cell Block 99 had screenings at the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival and Fantastic Fest.[8] In August 2017, RLJE Films acquired the North American distribution rights, having previously released Zahler's Bone Tomahawk. The film was released in theaters on October 6, 2017, and on digital HD and video on demand on October 13, 2017.[5][21][25] On August 29, 2017, the film's trailer was released.[8][19] Brawl in Cell Block 99 grossed $79,000 worldwide.[26]

Critical response

Brawl in Cell Block 99 received positive reviews from critics and audiences alike, with praise focusing on its 1970s tough-guy exploitative or grindhouse movie style, and Vince Vaughn's performance that was contrary to his past roles in comedy films.[27][28][29] On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 91% based on 96 reviews, with an average rating of 7.60/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Brawl in Cell Block 99 rides a committed Vince Vaughn performance into the brutally violent—and undeniably entertaining—depths of prison-set grindhouse genre fare."[30] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 79 out of 100, based on 21 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[31] After the film was screened at the 74th Venice International Film Festival, the film received a warm applause from the audience.[28]

Richard Roeper of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film 3.5 out of 4 stars and praised Vaughn's performance, saying: "In the middle of all the wince-inducing, limb-bending, bone-crunching, face-exploding bloodshed, Vaughn turns in a legitimately great performance that ranks among the finest work he's ever done."[27] Owen Gleiberman of Variety praised the film, calling it a "rare movie that truly evokes the grindhouse '70s" with its "exploitation made with vicious sincerity." He also praised Vaughn's performance, referring his character Bradley as "a big violent sad-eyed baby, and he connects to the audience in the direct emotional way that he has done only rarely since Swingers."[28] Dan Buffa of KSDK News wrote: "Thank you, S. Craig Zahler, for resurrecting Vaughn's career. You'll never look at the actor the same way after this film."[32] Jeannette Catsoulis of The New York Times listed the film as a Critics Pick, writing: "This painstakingly paced thriller displays an intensity of purpose that makes it impossible to dismiss as well-executed trash."[33]

Not all reception was mostly positive. Eric Kohn of IndieWire gave the film a "B-", writing: "Brawl in Cell Block 99 unleashes a fascinating gamble, blending the grimy aesthetic of a one-note action movie with undercurrents of blue-collar frustration. It doesn’t quite succeed at fusing those two elements, but it's further proof of a filmmaking sensibility willing to push beyond the presumed barriers of formula."[34] Simon Abrams of RogerEbert.com also gave the film 3.5 out of 4 stars but noted that the film's script and themes are not suitable for the entire audience, and the reception of the violence varies from person to person.[20]

Accolades

The film made year-end best of lists for Newsweek,[35] Los Angeles Times,[36] Collider,[37] The A.V. Club,[38] and others. The picture was a New York Times Critics Pick[33] and was screened at the Museum of Modern Art,[39] where it was added to the permanent collection.[39]

Brawl in Cell Block 99 was nominated for Best Thriller Film and Best Actor for Vaughn at the 44th Saturn Awards, but lost to Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri and Mark Hamill for Star Wars: The Last Jedi, respectively.[40][41]

References

External links

• Brawl in Cell Block 99 at IMDb
• Brawl in Cell Block 99 at Rotten Tomatoes
• Brawl in Cell Block 99 at Metacritic

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