Brokedown Palace
USA 1999
Reviewed by Philip Kemp
Synopsis
Our synopses give away the plot in full, including surprise twists.
Childhood friends Alice Marano and Darlene Davis graduate from their Ohio high school. To celebrate, they take a trip to Bangkok where they meet young Australian Nick Parks. Darlene sleeps with him, arousing Alice's jealousy. Nick invites them to Hong Kong. They accept but are arrested before boarding the plane; heroin is found in their luggage. Chief Detective Jagkrit tricks Darlene into signing a confession. The girls protest their innocence, but are found guilty and sentenced to 33 years in jail.
The girls hear of an American expat lawyer, Henry Greene, who with his Thai wife Yon helps US prisoners for a price. Darlene's parents and Alice's father put up $15,000 to pay for an appeal and a new hearing, but the sentence is confirmed. Henry continues his investigation unpaid, discovering that Nick, a professional drug smuggler, had other couriers on the same flight and used Alice and Darlene as sacrificial decoys. The girls try to escape but are caught and sentenced to 15 more years each. Henry traces a link between Nick and Jagkrit, and puts pressure on the cop to allow a pardon. Jagkrit agrees, but goes back on his word. At the pardon hearing, Alice confesses to the crime and begs for Darlene's freedom. Darlene is pardoned and takes a tearful leave of Alice, promising to work for her release.
Review
The name of Thailand in Thai, tearaway teenager Alice Marano tells her staider friend Darlene, means 'freedom', and Bangkok offers the enticing prospect of "Las Vegas without parents or laws". But the absence of parents and laws that these girls can comprehend means danger no less than opportunity. "We're from Ohio, for God's sake!" protests Alice once she and Darlene are arrested, but the cosy small-town values of the Midwest carry little weight in the Piranesian labyrinth of the Thai penal system. The girls' light-hearted larceny, conning themselves free drinks by the pool of a posh hotel, incurs a terrible price. Brokedown Palace often comes across as an old-fashioned morality tale about the perils of dishonesty, lying to your parents and swanning off to foreign countries.
Altogether, there's a disquieting flavour of xenophobia about Kaplan's film. Thais, for the most part, are treacherous and corrupt, while Americans are straightforward if naive. Even Bill Pullman's expat lawyer, though ostensibly venal, comes good in the end. Thailand itself is shown as intrinsically deceptive: behind the tourist facade of smiling dancers and delicate temples lie dirt and squalor, rivers choked with effluent and cruddy hotels infested with cockroaches. Initially charmed to find one can gain virtue by buying songbirds in the market and letting them fly free, Alice and Darlene later learn that the birds are trained to wing straight back to their cages. But by the time they find out about the scam, the girls themselves are trapped and caged - in a jail in whose filth and privations we're invited to see mirrored the underlying reality of Thailand itself. No wonder the shoot had to be relocated to the Philippines.
Throughout the film, echoes abound of Midnight Express (1978), another innocent-abroad saga that used a squalid jail as metaphor for a whole country. But Brokedown Palace thankfully lacks the bludgeoning intensity of Alan Parker's film, substituting a lighter, more feminised tone. The jail, though filthy and restrictive, is far from the brutal Turkish hellhole of the earlier film and the Thai prison regime more uncaring than sadistic. This is reflected in the overall look of the two films: Parker's dank, gloomy dungeon gives way to air and sunlight for Kaplan. After their escape attempt the girls are thrown into solitary, but the episode isn't dwelt on. And - surprisingly given Kaplan's earlier hit, the rape-drama The Accused (1988) and Bangkok's reputation as sex-tourism Mecca - there's no hint of sexual threat.
Claire Danes and Kate Beckinsale, each cast interestingly against type, bring warmth and urgency to the central relationship, though there's a feeling that both they and Bill Pullman are striving to bring out ambiguities absent from David Arata's underwritten script. Given greater psychological depth in the writing, the last-reel resolution might have seemed less sentimental and tacked on. But at least it leaves intact the mystery of which girl, if either, stashed the heroin in the luggage; a nudgingly long-held shot just before the airport scene hints that the guilty party may in fact have been yet another duplicitous Thai.
Credits
- Producers
- Adam Fields
- Philippines:
- Lope V. Juban Jr
- Screenplay
- David Arata
- Story
- Adam Fields
- David Arata
- Director of Photography
- Newton Thomas Sigel
- Editor
- Curtiss Clayton
- Production Designer
- James Newport
- Music/Music Conducter
- David Newman
- ©Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation
- Production Company
- Fox 2000 Pictures presents an Adam Fields production
- Executive Producer
- A. Kitman Ho
- Production Supervisor
- Thomas Hayslip
- Production Co-ordinators
- Dawn Murphy Riley
- Philippines:
- Joji Nolasco
- LA Unit:
- Julie M. Anderson
- Production Manager
- Philippines:
- Angelito 'Zebra' Mabalot
- Unit Production Managers
- A. Kitman Ho
- LA Unit:
- Helen Pollak
- Location Managers
- Pat Yuseco
- LA Unit:
- Richard S. Rosenberg
- Production Consultant
- General Loven Abadia
- 2nd Unit Director
- Bruce Meade
- Assistant Directors
- Liz Ryan
- Philip Hardage
- Philippines:
- Arturo 'Boy' Soquerata
- Caloy Medina
- Script Supervisor
- Lou Ann Quast
- Casting
- Julie Selzer
- Asian:
- Pat Pao
- Philippines:
- Ricky Araneta
- Associate:
- Lauris Freeman
- Steadicam/B Camera
- Robert Gorelick
- Visual Effects Supervisors
- Rich Thorne
- Erik Henry
- Visual Effects Producer
- Sharon Holly
- Digital Effects
- Digital FilmWorks Inc
- Digital Effects Supervisor:
- Peter W. Moyer
- Digital Effects Producer:
- Cosmas Paul Bolger Jr
- Production Manager:
- Alison Rein
- Lead 2D Artists:
- Marco S. Paolini
- Christopher Leone
- Film Recording/Scanning:
- Tommy Tran
- Gilbert De La Garza
- Visual Effects
- The Post Group's Digital Film Group
- Senior Visual Effects Compositor:
- Patrick Clancey
- Visual Effects Co-ordinator:
- Barbara Genicoff
- Matte Visual Effects
- Illusion Arts, Inc
- Palace Interior Shot by:
- Syd Dutton
- Bill Taylor
- Matte Artists:
- Kelvin McIlwain
- Mike Wassel
- Additional Matte Painting
- Blue Sky/VIFX
- Special Effects
- Danilo Dominguez
- Manny Macapagal
- Edgardo Sto. Domingo
- Tons Muñoz
- Sonny Intal
- Special Effects Co-ordinator
- LA Unit:
- Eric Rylander
- Special Effects Foreman
- LA Unit:
- Lee Alan McConnell
- Scale Model Maker
- At Maculangan
- Additional Film Editing
- Glenn Farr
- Art Directors
- Supervising:
- Neil Lamont
- Philippines:
- Roy Lachica
- LA Unit:
- Gregory Bolton
- Set Designers
- Roger A. Bowles
- Peter Francis
- Daniel Fernandez
- Set Decorators
- Peter Walpole
- LA Unit:
- William Kemper Wright
- Draftsmen
- Bong Pangilina
- Joseph Venzuela
- Storyboard Artist
- Peg McClellan
- Costume Designer
- April Ferry
- Costume Supervisors
- Donna Berwick
- Philippines:
- Wynn Arenas
- Make-up Artist
- Key:
- Felicity Bowring
- LA Unit:
- Jane Galli
- Make-up/Hair
- Philippines:
- Teresa Villaflor
- Hair
- Key:
- Suzanne Stokes-Munton
- Stylist:
- Petra Schaumann
- Titles/Opticals
- Pacific Title/Mirage
- Score Orchestration
- Xandy Janko
- Music Supervisors
- Jeff Carson
- Amanda Sheer-Demme
- Music Editor
- Tom Villano
- Score Recordist/Mixer
- John Kurlander
- Synthesizer Programming
- Marty Frasu
- Scoring Consultant
- Krystyna Newman
- Soundtrack
- "Silence" by Bill Leeb, Rhys Fulber, Sarah McLachlan, performed by Delerium; "Policeman Skank (The Story of My Life)" by Robin File, Sean McCann, Martin Merchant, Robert Maxfield, performed by Audioweb; "Party's Just Begun" by Nelly Furtado, Gerald Eaton, Brian West, performed by Nelly Furtado; "Waltz #7 Opus 64 #2" by Frédéric Chopin; "Sunflower" by T. Emery, G. Knowles, M. Morton; "Fingers (Original Mix)" by F. Shamsher, H. Shamsher, S. Raman, performed by Joi; "Rock the Casbah" by Joe Strummer, Mick Jones, Topper Headon, performed by Solar Twins; "Even When I'm Sleeping" by Dean Manning, performed by Leonardo's Bride, remixed by Paul Mac; "Leave It Alone (Thai Version)" by David Usher, Mark Makowy, Kevin Young, Jeff Pearce, Paul Wilcox, performed by Moist; "Contradictive" by Adrian Thaws pka 'Tricky', Larry Muggerud, performed by Tricky, DJ Muggs; "Kickboxing Music" by/performed by Hummie Mann; "Naxalite" by Deedar Saidullah Zaman, Sanjay Gulabbhai Tailor, John Ashok Pandit, Steven Chandra Savale, Aniruddha Das, performed by Asian Dub Foundation; "Damaged" by Thad Beaty, Matt Bronleewe, Tiffany Arbuckle, performed by Plumb; "Deliver Me" by Jon Marsh, Helena Marsh, performed by Sarah Brightman; "Bangkok (Thai Version)" by Paul Robb, performed by Brother Sun Sister Moon, mixed by Clif Norrell; "The Wind" by/performed by P.J Harvey, contains portions of "Planet of the Apes" by Jerry Goldsmith
- Sound Mixers
- John Midgley
- LA Unit:
- Jeff Wexler
- Re-recording Mixers
- Jim Bolt
- Andy Nelson
- Anna Behlmer
- Recordists
- Tim Gomillion
- Daniel Gross
- Supervising Sound Editors
- Sandy Berman
- John A. Larsen
- Dialogue Editors
- Susan Shackelford
- David Kulczycki
- Effects Editors
- Chuck Michael
- Jay Wilkinson
- ADR
- Supervisor:
- Jerelyn J. Harding
- Mixers:
- Charleen Richards
- Thomas J. O'Connell
- Greg Steele
- Editor:
- Donald Sylvester
- Foley
- Supervisor:
- Mark Pappas
- Artists:
- Alicia Stevenson
- Dawn Fintor
- Recordist:
- Carrie Cashman
- Mixer:
- Dave Betancourt
- Editor:
- Ted Caplan
- Stunt Co-ordinators
- Kerrie Cullen
- Tim A. Davison
- Animal Handler
- Joselito Bonus
- Animal Caretakers
- Benjamin Delina
- Renato Dela Torre
- Cast
- Claire Danes
- Alice Marano
- Bill Pullman
- Henry 'Yank Hank' Greene
- Kate Beckinsale
- Darlene Davis
- Lou Diamond Phillips
- Roy Knox
- Jacqueline Kim
- Yon Greene
- Daniel LaPaine
- Skip Kahn, 'Nick Parks'
- Tom Amandes
- Doug Davis
- Aimee Graham
- Beth Ann Gardener
- John Doe
- Bill Marano
- Lim Kay Tong
- Chief Detective Jagkrit
- Beulah Quo
- Guard Velie
- Henry O
- emissary to crown
- Bahni Turpin
- Jamaican prisoner
- Amanda de Cadenet
- English prisoner
- Indhira Charoenpura
- prisoner Shub
- Lilia Cuntapay
- old prisoner
- Somsuda Chotikasupa
- glasses guard
- Maya Elise Goodwin
- Mary
- Chad Todhunter
- Ferg
- Lori Lethin
- Lori Davis
- Hayley Palmer
- Heidi Davis
- Rhency Padilla
- pool boy
- Victor Neri
- bellhop
- Ermie M. Concepcion
- Paku
- Nopachai Israngkur Na Ayudhya
- Ayutthaya A. Payakkapong
- cabbies
- Kawee Sirikhanaerut
- shouting soldier
- Sahajak Boonthanakit
- Sergeant Choy
- Mario Valentino Victa
- Lieutenant Tung
- Joonee Gamboa
- Montree, attorney
- Phikun M. Sabino
- Sorhirun, guard
- Toun Tolentino
- old dorm guard
- Tawewan Promgontha
- young dorm guard
- Sawan Edo
- Sawalee, guard
- Sudarat L. Gaoat
- Mangman, guard
- Tawatchai Teeranusoon
- M. Tom Visvachat
- Thai judges
- Tony Carney
- Doug's translator
- Pichada De Jesus
- Darlene's translator
- Sutagorn Jaiman
- prosecutor
- Pathompong Supalert
- defense attorney
- Achavasak Phitak
- Officer Deesom
- Songkran Somboon
- Officer Changjarung
- Harry E. Northup
- Leon Smith
- Johnny Ray McGhee
- DEA agent
- Phanom Promguntha
- customs supervisor
- Jake De Asis
- royal Thai guard
- Olympio D. Franco
- sick prisoner
- Ronnie Lazaro
- security
- Parinya Pattamadilok
- shop owner
- Yuthana Kaewdaeng
- Thai vendor
- Certificate
- 12
- Distributor
- 20th Century Fox (UK)
- 9,054 feet
- 100 minutes 36 seconds
- Dolby
- Colour/Prints by
- DeLuxe
- Super 35 [2.35:1]