Survival is key.
Escape from Pretoria is an Australian Biopic starring Daniel Radcliffe.
Tim Jenkins and Stephen Lee are anti-apartheid activists in South Africa. They get arrested and sentenced for creating leaflet bombs and sent to Pretoria Prison for White Males. While Stephen's first escape attempt goes south, Tim decides to coolly and calmly find a way to get the men out.
Tropes for this movie include:
- Adaptational Dumbass: In real life, Stephen and Jenkins were caught after doing several leaflet bombs in certain areas. The police had noticed the pattern and started tracking them. Here, the duo is arrested almost immediately after setting off a series of leaflet bombs.
- Based on a True Story: The escape really happened in Pretoria, even if some of the details are different.
- Double Standard: Tim angrily notes that even though the prisoners committed crimes, they are treated better than the only "innocent" person, the black orderly Potluck, is by the guards. Of course, "better" is relative; Leonard is beaten up for touching the visitors' glass and for demanding that the guards leave photos of his son alone.
- Great Escape: Tim is determined that they'll get out of prison sooner than in twelve years. Much to everyone's astonishment, including Tim's, it actually works!
- Honor Among Thieves: The white-collar criminals warn Tim and Stephen about sitting with the blue-shirts since they are murderers. They also aren't happy about Tim, Stephen, and Leonard planning to escape but refuse to snitch on them. In the climax, Denis creates a distraction by killing the lights so that the men have a chance at escaping.
- Jaywalking Will Ruin Your Life: It's implied that most of the white-collar inmates at the prison are there for relatively minor infractions. We never find out what Leonard did to incur more than ten years, and Denis revealed he was arrested for working with Nelson Mandela in the 1960s and that earned him four life sentences.
- Love Cannot Overcome: The epilogue confirms that Tim and his black girlfriend Daphne never got together again after he successfully escaped the country.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: The reason why Tim and Stephen got caught is because they failed to plan for discretion when setting off their flyer bombs. It's also implied they could have badly hurt the innocent people they were trying to reach, which is why they received no leniency.
- Nice to the Waiter: Owing to their civil rights beliefs, Tim and Stephen are very kind towards "Potluck," the black orderly charged with doing menial labor. In return, he smuggles them the civilian clothes they need to bust out and blend in with the crowds. Tim is devastated on learning that the guards killed Potluck For the Evulz.
- No One Gets Left Behind: Subverted. Tim, Stephen, and Leonard offer to bust out everyone else in the prison. The other inmates refuse because many of their sentences are nearly up, the sniper on guard is a "psychopath" and it's too risky; in Denis's case, he doesn't want those left behind to get punished for the escape. He is touched, however, that Tim keeps offering to take him.
- "Not So Different" Remark: Denis tells Tim that he understands why the man did what he did; Denis was arrested for working with Nelson Mandela and serving as an activist. In fact, in real life, he stayed behind Taking the Heat for other activists who did escape during his trial.
- Properly Paranoid: The head Menjeer is suspicious about Tim keeping random but seemingly harmless items in his cell, such as tiny photo mounts (actually parts of the key) and a broom. He says he'll figure out what it is but never does.
- Refuge in Audacity: Much of the escape plans rely on this.
- When his cell is searched, Tim lies that the key teeth are mounts for his family photos. The guard is so stunned that he lets this pass.
- Likewise, during the big night, Tim makes sure to lock all the doors behind himself, Stephen and Leonard. To the guards, it looks like they vanished into thin air.
- The prison is designed so that a prisoner would desperately flee out the back, where the sniper would gun them down. They weren't prepared for escapees to simply march out the front door in civilian clothes and grab the nearest cab. What's more, no one has ever tried to escape during the day.
- Taught by Experience: Tim and Stephen start out as well-meaning but naïve activists. They have no sense of discretion when setting off their flyer bombs, which is why they get arrested. In prison, Tim is forced to be more careful about hiding the escape implements and keys, finding new hiding places and studying the layout of the locked doors night after night.
