Papillon

 

Papillon is a biographical drama set in the 1930s. It tells the story of French safecracker, Henri “Papillon” Charrière, who was falsely accused of a murder and imprisoned in French Guiana. The movie stars Charlie Hunnam and Rami Malek.

The film is a remake of the 1973 adaptation which is based on Charrière's autobiographies Papillon and Banco. The screenplay was engaging and will keep you on the edge of your seat the entire time. It gave me Count of Monte Cristo vibes.

Where the movie fell flat was in its casting, hair and makeup. It’s French movie with no French actors, language or accents. I didn’t even know it was based in France or that the characters were French until I looked it up. Rami Malek, though not French, did well in his role as the wealthy counterfeiter, turned inmate, Louis Dega. Charlie Hunnam on the other hand was not as impressive, as the lead Papillon. Due to his lack of range or impact in his acting style, I was not fully committed to his character. As for hair and makeup, the aging of the characters was poorly done and lazy

In the end I would say that this was an interesting story that had the potential to be epic but just lacked the proper production. It wasn’t a complete waste of time but was a bit of a disappointment.