Pauline Madden

Amazing. Cinematically rich; compelling and complex. The anti-hero - a teenaged, petty criminal sentenced to serve time in a tough, adult prison, ruled by gangs. He has to grow-up and adapt to survive. He encounters a charismatic, protective, but ambivalent, individual, who teaches him to read and helps him to negotiate the prison. He murders him, by order of a gang boss, but it's a weirdly complicit killing, and in death, the mysterious, charismatic man becomes a dream-like, supernatural presence and a transfer of supernatural, prophetic power is effected by it. The young man has become A Prophet. Over time, he ascends the gang hierarchy, becoming the loyal, right-hand man to the boss, running the empire inside and outside the prison. He carries out high-risk, high-gain, audacious jobs; campaigns of ruthless violence and opportunity; acts of charity, benevolence, faith and piety. Ultimately, he becomes the powerful leader of the underworld empire. It is a measure of the film, that our sympathies are always with him, we are always rooting for him and ultimately, he is the hero.

Intense, frightening and upsetting in parts. Interesting - an insight into a world that very little is known about, apart from within the pool of specialists that operate within Sat diving and deep sea oil rig work. Without spoiling the film for others, the scenes (real film) where the poor man is lying on the subsea rig, waving and barely alive, are devastating. The divers and support vessel crew are very special people working in a very specialised world. An emotionally draining film to watch, but really well-made and the characters speak for themselves and their world.