Several moments within the director Catherine Hardwicke’s latest film “Prisoner’s Daughter” contain glimmers of promise, each one regrettably smothered by a pedestrian script from Mark Bacci. Fresh from his epochal stint as Logan Roy on the series “Succession,” Brian Cox stars as Max, a former boxer and criminal enforcer who has spent the last 12 years in prison. When Max receives a terminal cancer prognosis, the warden offers him compassionate release, provided he can reside with his estranged daughter, Maxine (Kate Beckinsale) and her son, Ezra (Christopher Convery).
Maxine grudgingly accepts the arrangement — under the condition that Max pays rent — given her dire financial situation. Between inconsistent work and little help (if not outright sabotage) from Ezra’s unstable father, Tyler (The All-American Rejects frontman Tyson Ritter), Maxine struggles to afford Ezra’s epilepsy medication. But inevitably she begins to repair her relationship with Max, who also becomes a devoted father figure to Ezra, much to Tyler’s chagrin.
Of course, we’ve seen this tale many times before, and far better executed. Despite committed performances from its cast (particularly Cox, arguably miscast for all his best efforts), the writing resists exploring what makes this story worth telling. The script denies its characters depth beyond their circumstances — struggling single mother, repentant father — and thus, their relationship, too, remains hollow and archetypal. More frustrating still, the film forgoes any critique of the prison system, in all its stifling bureaucracy; and what allows Max to survive outside of it — especially as an older man who has spent so many years incarcerated — goes largely unquestioned.
Prisoner’s Daughter
Rated R for language and some violence. Running time: 1 hour 40 minutes. In theaters.
