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Brawl in Cell Block 99
S Craig Zahler, director of the gruesome western Bone Tomahawk, exercises his penchant for shocking violence in this gritty US thriller, which features a career-reviving lead performance from Vince Vaughn. In a stark departure from the comical roles which have become his stock in trade, Vaughn plays former boxer Bradley Thomas, who is struggling to provide for his pregnant wife Lauren (Jennifer Carpenter). When the marriages threatens to implode as a result of Lauren's deep-rooted unhappiness, Bradley promises to do whatever it takes to turn their fortunes around and he chooses to operate on the wrong side of the law as a drugs runner to give Lauren the house of her dreams. Unfortunately, a lucrative deal goes badly awry and Bradley is apprehended by the police. Sentenced to several years behind bars for his crime, Bradley is resigned to missing the birth and formative years of his baby. His misery is compounded by a surprise visit from a mysterious man (Udo Kier), who reveals that Lauren has been kidnapped and the baby will be terminated unless Bradley agrees to kill a prisoner, who is in a maximum-security facility overseen by sadistic Warden Tuggs (Don Johnson). Bradley must tap into the violence he used to exhibit in the boxing ring to expedite a transfer to the new prison before his wife and unborn child pay a sickening price for his reckless actions.
