Animal Factory

Last updated
Animal Factory
AnimalFactory.jpg
DVD cover
Directed by Steve Buscemi
Screenplay by Edward Bunker
John Steppling
Based onThe Animal Factory
by Edward Bunker
Produced bySteve Buscemi
Elie Samaha
Andrew Stevens
Julie Yorn
Danny Trejo
Edward Bunker
Tracee Stanley
Starring
CinematographyPhil Parmet
Edited byKate Williams
Music by John Lurie
Production
company
Distributed bySilver Nitrate
Release dates
Running time
94 minutes [1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$43,805 [2]

Animal Factory is a 2000 neo-noir film directed by Steve Buscemi and starring Willem Dafoe, Edward Furlong, Danny Trejo, John Heard, Mickey Rourke, Tom Arnold, Seymour Cassel, Shell Galloway and Mark Boone, Jr. Set in San Quentin, the film is about life in prison. It is based on the novel of the same name by Eddie Bunker who plays the part of Buzzard in the film.

Contents

Plot

Ron Decker, a young man convicted for drug possession, is sent to prison where veteran con Earl Copen takes Decker under his wing and introduces him into his own gang. Copen first helps out Decker when three Puerto Ricans attempt to lure him into a cell block to rape him. Copen sees through their plans and talks to the Puerto Ricans, who quickly abandon interest in Decker.

Over the next few days, Copen helps Decker out by getting him better jobs, food, and even transferring him to his own cell block. Mainly Copen helps Decker's case and points out that under a new article passed by the legislature, a judge can modify a sentence in the first 90 days if he sees fit, so Copen (who is the assistant to the Captain of the Guards) helps write false reports and gives Decker advice to stay out of trouble, which will make Decker appear as a "very small threat to society". Unfortunately, after a large inmate called Buck Rowan attempts to rape Decker in the bathroom, Decker stabs Rowan in a fight involving Copen, paralyzing Rowan. Rowan signs a statement claiming Decker and Copen are responsible and their cells are stripped and they are restricted to them.

Decker's attempt at a modified sentence is denied and his sentence remains five years. Meanwhile, Copen manages to get word out Rowan is "snitching", and an inmate working at the infirmary poisons Rowan's IV with cleaning fluid. The case against Copen and Decker is thrown out as the victim and main witness is dead.

Shortly after their release, Copen tells Decker he plans to escape, and they plot to hide in a garbage truck and avoid being crushed by the compressor by using a bar to stop it. Decker escapes in one truck, Copen is unable to jump into the truck after the appearance of one of the prison guards. Decker manages to flee to Costa Rica and Copen stays behind, after stating "This is my prison, after all" and quoting Satan from Paradise Lost by John Milton: "Better to reign in hell than serve in heaven."

Cast

Anohni makes a cameo appearance as a prisoner performing at a musical night in the prison.

Production

Animal Factory was filmed at Holmesburg Prison in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Filming was completed in 30 days, two days longer than originally scheduled. Buscemi employed hundreds of prisoners from Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility, the prison that replaced Holmesburg Prison in 1995.

The film is based upon the novel of the same name by writer Edward Bunker. Bunker, who has a small part in the film, also co-starred alongside Animal Factory's director Buscemi in Quentin Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs.

Reception

The film received positive reviews. It was highly praised at the Sundance Film Festival. [3] On Rotten Tomatoes, it has an approval rating of 83% based on reviews from 35 critics, with an average rating of 6.90/10. [4] The site’s critics consensus reads, "Animal Factory is an honest attempt at a humanizing prison drama that stumbles with its performances but Buscemi's ambitious directing makes up for it." [4] On Metacritic, it has a score of 65% based on reviews from 12 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". [5]

Elvis Mitchell of The New York Times wrote: "Willem Dafoe steals the picture with his comic timing." [6] Gene Seymour of the Los Angeles Times called it "One of the least sensationalistic--and therefore, more unsettlingly plausible--visions of prison life ever transfigured into big-screen drama." [7] [8] [9] Alex Raynor of Empire magazine wrote: "Steady-handed direction and a number of strong performances allow Animal Factory to maintain a decent balance between prison violence and inmate camaraderie, making for a well-paced and thoughtful prison drama." [10] Leonard Maltin places the film in his book 151 Best Movies You've Never Seen. [11]

Related Research Articles

The year 2000 in film involved some significant events. The top grosser worldwide was Mission: Impossible 2. Domestically in North America, Gladiator won the Academy Awards for Best Picture and Best Actor. Dinosaur was the most expensive film of 2000 and a box-office success.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steve Buscemi</span> American actor (born 1957)

Steven Vincent Buscemi is an American actor. Buscemi is known for his work as an acclaimed character actor. His early credits consist of major roles in independent film productions such as the AIDS drama Parting Glances (1986), Mystery Train (1989), In the Soup (1992), and his breakout role as Mr. Pink in Quentin Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs (1992).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Willem Dafoe</span> American actor (born 1955)

William James "Willem" Dafoe is an American actor. He is the recipient of various accolades, including the Volpi Cup for Best Actor as well as nominations for four Academy Awards, a BAFTA Award, three Golden Globe Awards, and four Screen Actors Guild Awards. He has frequently collaborated with filmmakers Paul Schrader, Abel Ferrara, Lars von Trier, Julian Schnabel, Wes Anderson, and Robert Eggers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Danny Trejo</span> American actor

Danny Trejo is an American actor. He has appeared in films including Desperado, Heat, and the From Dusk Till Dawn film series. With frequent collaborator and his second cousin Robert Rodriguez, he portrayed the character of Isador "Machete" Cortez, which was originally developed for the Spy Kids series and was later expanded into its own franchise of the same name.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mickey Rourke</span> American actor and former boxer

Philip Andre "Mickey" Rourke Jr. is an American actor and former professional boxer who has appeared primarily as a leading man in drama, action, and thriller films.

<i>Con Air</i> 1997 American action thriller film by Simon West

Con Air is a 1997 American action thriller film directed by Simon West and starring Nicolas Cage, John Cusack and John Malkovich. Written by Scott Rosenberg and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, the film centers on a prison break aboard a Justice Prisoner and Alien Transportation System aircraft, nicknamed "con air". It features an ensemble supporting cast including Steve Buscemi, Ving Rhames, Colm Meaney, Mykelti Williamson, Dave Chappelle, Rachel Ticotin, Danny Trejo, and Monica Potter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abel Ferrara</span> American film director

Abel Ferrara is an American filmmaker, known for the provocative and often controversial content in his movies and his use and redefinition of neo-noir imagery. A long-time independent filmmaker, some of his best known movies include the New York-set, gritty crime thrillers Ms .45 (1981), King of New York (1990), Bad Lieutenant (1992) and The Funeral (1996), chronicling violent crime in urban settings with spiritual overtones.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edward Bunker</span> American novelist, screenwriter, and actor

Edward Heward Bunker was an American author of crime fiction, a screenwriter, convicted felon and an actor. He wrote numerous books, some of which have been adapted into films. He wrote the scripts for—and acted in—Straight Time (1978), Runaway Train (1985) and Animal Factory (2000). He also played a minor role in Reservoir Dogs (1992).

<i>XXX: State of the Union</i> 2005 American action spy film by Lee Tamahori

XXX: State of the Union (released as XXX2: The Next Level and XXX: State of Emergency outside North America) is a 2005 American action spy film directed by Lee Tamahori and a sequel to the 2002 film XXX. It is the second installment of the XXX film series, and was produced by Revolution Studios for Columbia Pictures.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Holmesburg, Philadelphia</span> Neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US

Holmesburg began as a Village within Lower Dublin Township, Pennsylvania. It is now a neighborhood in the Northeast section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Holmesburg was named in Honor of Surveyor General of Pennsylvania Thomas Holme, who was a cartographer.

<i>Trees Lounge</i> 1996 film

Trees Lounge is a 1996 American comedy-drama film and the debut of Steve Buscemi as writer and director. It was produced by Brad Wyman and Chris Hanley and features a large ensemble cast of actors, including Buscemi, Anthony LaPaglia, Chloë Sevigny, and Samuel L. Jackson. The film's black humor is based on examination of characters' self-destructive behavior, revolving around their shared hangout of the titular bar and lounge.

<i>Reindeer Games</i> 2000 American action crime thriller film

Reindeer Games is a 2000 American erotic thriller film directed by John Frankenheimer in his final feature directorial outing before his 2002 death. It stars Ben Affleck, Gary Sinise, Charlize Theron, Dennis Farina, James Frain, Donal Logue, Danny Trejo and Clarence Williams III. The film revolves around ex-convict Rudy Duncan, who is dragged into a situation against his will: he must help a group of thieves rob a casino in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, or he will be killed.

<i>White Sands</i> (film) 1992 American film by Roger Donaldson

White Sands is a 1992 American crime thriller film directed by Roger Donaldson and starring Willem Dafoe, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Samuel L. Jackson, and Mickey Rourke. Written by Daniel Pyne for Warner Bros., the film is about a U.S. southwestern small-town sheriff who finds a body in the desert with a suitcase and $500,000. He impersonates the man and stumbles into an FBI investigation.

<i>Eye of the Tiger</i> (film) 1986 film by Richard C. Sarafian

Eye of the Tiger is a 1986 American action film directed by Richard C. Sarafian, and stars Gary Busey, Yaphet Kotto, Denise Galik, Seymour Cassel, William Smith, and Judith Barsi.

<i>Lock Up</i> (1989 film) 1989 film by John Flynn

Lock Up is a 1989 American prison action film directed by John Flynn. It stars Sylvester Stallone, Donald Sutherland, Tom Sizemore, and John Amos. It was released in the United States on August 4, 1989.

<i>The Reckoning</i> (2004 film) 2004 film

The Reckoning, also known as Morality Play, is a 2004 British-Spanish murder mystery drama film directed by Paul McGuigan and starring Paul Bettany, Willem Dafoe, Tom Hardy, Gina McKee, Brian Cox and Vincent Cassel. It was written by Mark Mills and based on the 1995 novel Morality Play by Barry Unsworth. Filming was done on location in Spain, Wales, and England.

<i>Lonesome Jim</i> 2005 film by Steve Buscemi

Lonesome Jim is a 2005 American comedy/drama film directed by actor/filmmaker Steve Buscemi. Filmed mostly in the city of Goshen, Indiana, the film stars Casey Affleck as a chronically depressed aspiring writer who moves back into his parents' home after failing to make it in New York City. His older brother already lives there with his two daughters. Liv Tyler stars as a good-hearted nurse who begins a sexual relationship with Jim and starts to see him as a potential stepfather for her son.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Holmesburg Prison</span> Former detention center in Pennsylvania, United States

John Steppling is an American playwright, screenwriter and teacher. Steppling's plays have been produced in the United States and Europe. He received fellowships from the Rockefeller Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts, a residency at the McDowell Colony and has received PEN-West, LA Weekly and Dramalogue awards for his theatrical work.

<i>Dog Eat Dog</i> (2016 film) 2016 American film

Dog Eat Dog is a 2016 American action thriller film directed by Paul Schrader with a screenplay by Matthew Wilder, based on Edward Bunker's 1995 novel of the same name. The film stars Nicolas Cage and Willem Dafoe.

References

  1. ↑ "Animal Factory". BBFC . Retrieved 2021-01-01.
  2. ↑ Animal Factory at Box Office Mojo RetrievedJuly 19, 2012.
  3. ↑ "Animal Factory". Allmovie . Retrieved June 13, 2010.
  4. 1 2 "Animal Factory". Rotten Tomatoes . Retrieved Jan 1, 2021.
  5. ↑ "Animal Factory". Metacritic . Retrieved 2021-01-01.
  6. ↑ Mitchell, Elvis (20 October 2000). "FILM REVIEW; Surviving The Lockup One Way Or Another (Published 2000)" . The New York Times .
  7. ↑ Seymour, Gene (10 November 2000). "Buscemi Brings Prison's Grit, Grace to His 'Animal Factory'". Los Angeles Times .
  8. ↑ "Animal Factory". Variety . 27 January 2000.
  9. ↑ Gleiberman, Owen (November 3, 2000). "Animal Factory". Entertainment Weekly .
  10. ↑ Raynor, Alex (1 Jan 2000). "Animal Factory Review". Empire .
  11. ↑ Maltin, Leonard (2010). 151 Best Movies You've Never Seen . HarperCollins. p.  3. ISBN   978-0-06-173234-8.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.