“I have trouble seeing hope in hopelessness.”
Henri Charrière, a navel veteran turned small-time criminal, is framed for a murder and sentenced to life in a penal colony in French Guiana. Of that life sentence he ultimately served 11 years, every day of which he either considered, planned or attempted an escape. It is his story that sits at the center of Michael Noer’s Papillon, a story originally made known thanks to Franklin J. Schaffner’s 1973 film starring Steve McQueen and Dustin Hoffman.
Noer is a prolific director who has a reputation for stories revolving around young people who, when push comes to shove, step up and ultimately grow up by rising to a situation. While Charrière doesn’t serve that purpose, his prison mate Louis Dega does. Together the two unknowingly embark on a tiresome journey of friendship, loyalty and survival in the warm months of Paris, 1931.
At the forefront, Papillon is a slow cooked drama that lethargically peels back the layers to our two prisoners as they unintentionally build trust and allegiance to one another while being transported to the penal colony. The gradual build up creates an unexpected tension, allowing Noer to utilize your thoughts as he sets the stage for the first escape.
Though not overly violent, Papillon does not shy away from the expected prisoner behavior. A guillotine is used on any prisoner that commits murder while incarcerated, and a wealth of knife fights break out between those behind bars. It is all expected; though it is worth noting that Noer sugar coats nothing, pushing his actors to go through radical physical transformations to accurately depict the tough and gruesome life on the island - even if its inhabitants are in sharp contrast to its green and blue surroundings.
The heart of Papillon lies within Charlie Hunnam’s brilliant portrayal of Charrière. Though the dialogue occasionally flounders and the pacing at times drags, Hennam’s ability to engage your mind is nothing short of impressive. During a stint in confinement you begin to notice the visual changes taking place, but it is ultimately his mental alterations that grip you hard. You quickly find yourself drawn to his journey as you anxiously watch him attempt (and fail) escape after escape after escape - turning a blind eye to the punishment that awaits his recapture, ultimately using the discipline as a way to showcase his loyalty and commitment to his one friend on the inside, refusing to rat out Dega.
It is Rami Malek’s Dega that ultimately proves to be the film’s black horse. Though a background player compared to Hunnam, Malek casually stakes his claim from the onset, using his body language to help connect as he navigates a prison system he surely won’t survive. His discovery that the guards will not protect him is a pivotal moment in the first scene, bringing him closer to Charrière as he begins to realize the life he is moving into. But ultimately it is his growth throughout the film that is most profound - even if it is dramatized. And it is ultimately Dega who gives the film its heartfelt emotion during the third act, one that helps tie up some loose ends with a big messy bow.
Papillon is long, a bit slow, and at times painfully drawn out. But that is what you’d expect from a film that is part thrill seeking adventure and part character driven drama. The two rarely merge in perfect unison and many of the usual problems exist here. But Noer has surrounded himself with wonderful people who somehow create ample comedy within the hard framework, constructing a narrative that is both entertaining and intriguing - two fine qualities for any film, no matter the pitfalls you must endure along the way.
