K-11 - The Jail - Blu-ray

Content: After allegedly killing a rock star for having an affair with his wife, successful music producer Raymond Saxx (Goran Visnjic) is sent to the K-11 section of the Los Angeles County Jail. This department is actually reserved for homosexuals, junkies and child molesters. The transsexual Mousey (Kate del Castillo) rules K-11 with a hard hand, controlling the drug trade as well as the head warden Sgt. Johnson (D.B. Sweeney). Raymond doesn't see that he should be subordinate to anyone here, which should actually put him on Mousey's hit list. But in time he realizes that if he wants to prove his innocence and not rot in K-11, he'll have to play by the rules of the joint. And so he hatches a plan that will not only win him his freedom, but could also shake up the power structure in K-11 big time...

With K-11 - The Jail, Australian-born Jules Stewart, mother of Twilight star Kristen Stewart, delivers an ambitious directorial debut. Stewart, who has previously worked as a script supervisor for film and TV, manages very well to build up an extremely oppressive prison atmosphere and establish the highly interesting scenario of a parallel society within the prison walls. However, at the latest with the first appearance of the corrupt Stg. Johnson, a very big weakness of the production makes itself felt. This character is so overdrawn with his drug addiction and his sexual obsession towards Mousey that he almost seems like a caricature. And even later on there are always situations or exaggerated portrayals that don't quite make it clear whether the film perhaps wants to be a dirty dark satire here and there or whether everything here is really meant seriously.

On the other hand there are moments of extreme brutality. Especially the plotline around the young transsexual Butterfly (Portia Doubleday) has some almost unbearable moments to offer. The result is a rather unbalanced overall picture that should have been much more determined and ruthless to reach the class of the award-winning HBO series Oz. The initial idea and the basic atmosphere are right, with the rest just a little less would have been more. For example, the actors are all good in their own right, but should have been reined in a bit by Stewart in some moments. Had D.B. Sweeney been a little more subtle with his character, he could have made an impression similar to Doug Hutchinson's Percy Wetmore in The Green Mile. That Stewart wastes such potential is a real shame.

After all, the story is interesting enough to provide exciting entertainment for lovers of prison thrillers of a different sort. If you can overlook the somewhat indecisive basic tone of the production and some too strikingly implemented scenes, you will be offered a thoroughly exciting and atmospheric implementation of an interesting concept. And for that, despite some weaknesses, there is still a: worth seeing!

Picture + Sound: The Blu-ray image is clean and features a high level of detail even in darker sequences. The color scheme feels a bit undercooked, which does a good job of reflecting the drab prison atmosphere. The audio makes limited use of the capabilities of a DTS-HD MA 7.1 mix. Dialogue sounds quite front-heavy and discernible surround effects are used only very sporadically. Nevertheless, the overall package is enough for a satisfied: good!

Extras: As a bonus, the Blu-ray offers only the trailer and other program tips from the provider.

Conclusion:K-11 - The Jail is a gritty prison thriller that shuttles a bit indecisively between over-the-top satire and brutal drama at moments. But what Jules Stewart manages to do well in her debut as a director is to build up an extremely oppressive and thus rousing atmosphere, in which especially lead actor Goran Visnjic (Emergency Room) can deliver a really good performance. In the end, the whole thing is not quite as authentic and uncompromising as the great prison series OZ, but still a quite gripping implementation of an exciting as well as interesting concept. Recommended

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp