Based on a horrifying true story, A Prayer Before Dawn is a boxing movie that doesn't have any interest in being inspirational. The film, based on Billy Moore's memoir, got big notices at last year's Cannes Film Festival, and is finally being released in the U.S.
Joe Cole (Netflix's Peaky Blinders) stars as Moore, a British ex-pat wallowing in the Thai underworld, strung on out drugs. When he's sent to prison, his only refuge from the inhumane conditions is the gym where he whips his body into shape to fight in tournaments. Shot on location with real prisoners and boxers, this is sure to be one of the most unrelenting films of the year.
A Prayer Before Dawn opens in limited release on Friday, August 10, but DirecTV subscribers can watch it on demand right now.
About Kip Mooney
Like many film critics born during and after the 1980s, my hero is Roger Ebert. The man was already the best critic in the nation when he won the Pulitzer in 1975, but his indomitable spirit during and after his recent battle with cancer keeps me coming back to read not only his reviews but his insightful commentary on the everyday. But enough about a guy you know a lot about.
I knew I was going to be a film critic—some would say a snob—in middle school, when I had to voraciously defend my position that The Royal Tenenbaums was only a million times better than Adam Sandler’s remake of Mr. Deeds. From then on, I would seek out Wes Anderson’s films and avoid Sandler’s like the plague.
Still, I like to think of myself as a populist, and I’ll be just as likely to see the next superhero movie as the next Sundance sensation. The thing I most deplore in a movie is laziness. I’d much rather see movies with big ambitions try and fail than movies with no ambitions succeed at simply existing. I’m also a big advocate of fun-bad movies like The Room and most of Nicolas Cage’s work.
In the past, I’ve written for The Dallas Morning News and the North Texas Daily, which I edited for a semester. I also contributed to Dallas-based Pegasus News, which in the circle of life, is now part of The Dallas Morning News, where I got my big break in 2007. Eventually, I’d love to write and talk about film full-time, but until that’s a viable career option, I work as an auditor for Wells Fargo.
I hope to one day meet my hero, go to the Toronto International Film Festival, and compete on Jeopardy. Until then, I’m excited to share my love of film with you.
