--- title: "Escape at Dannemora: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/tv/escape-at-dannemora/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/tv/escape-at-dannemora" critics_score: 74 critics_reviews: 9 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Escape at Dannemora (2018): what the critics said Critics' score 74 from 9 reviews: 7 positive, 2 mixed, 0 negative. Most critics like it, and the praise lands almost entirely on the cast. Patricia Arquette’s Tilly Mitchell is named in nearly every review as the reason to watch, with Benicio del Toro and Paul Dano close behind. Ben Stiller’s direction draws steady credit for making a familiar prison-break story feel cinematic and claustrophobic, and several reviews note the care taken over small, closely observed detail. The reservation is length. Seven hours, most agree, is more than the story needs, and even the warmer reviews concede it meanders. The spread is fairly wide: Collider finds it tense from start to finish, while The Hollywood Reporter calls the pacing a real problem and the characters too unpleasant to spend that long with. Variety adds that the story lacks any pressing reason to be told now. Nobody disputes the acting; the argument is over whether it justifies the running time. ## IndieWire — Ben Travers Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 13 November 2018. Ben Stiller's direction makes the prison drama riveting. Patricia Arquette delivers a stunning performance in the odd throuple with Benicio del Toro and Paul Dano. [Read the review](https://www.indiewire.com/features/general/ben-stiller-escape-at-dannemora-review-showtime-prison-1202019914/) ## The AV Club — Laura Bogart Rating A-. 19 November 2018. The premiere establishes that everyone longs to escape the grubbiness of their lives in subtle, poignant ways beyond the literal prison break. Arquette's Tilly seethes with internal ugliness and yearning in a marvelous performance. [Read the review](https://www.avclub.com/in-a-compelling-chapter-one-escape-at-dannemora-show-1830481005) ## The Telegraph Rating 4/5. 1 January 2019. The critic finds the miniseries a slow-burn prison-break drama boosted by its excellent cast, noting strong performances and claustrophobic atmosphere while acknowledging it meanders and may feel padded for some viewers. [Read the review](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/tv/0/escape-dannemora-review-slow-burn-prison-break-drama-boosted/) ## The Guardian Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 22 January 2019. The critic praises the cinematic quality and stellar cast performances, especially Patricia Arquette's transformative role as the manipulative prison employee, but criticizes the slow-burn pace that makes the prison break story drag at times. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2019/jan/22/escape-at-dannemora-review-a-big-cinematic-series-with-a-cast-to-match) ## Variety — Daniel D'Addario Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 13 November 2018. Patricia Arquette's committed performance as the resentful and complex Tilly Mitchell stands out and makes the series worth watching despite its punishing length. The critic notes strong direction from Ben Stiller at times but finds the overall story lacks urgent relevance and runs too long. [Read the review](https://variety.com/2018/tv/reviews/escape-at-dannemora-patricia-arquette-benicio-del-toro-review-1203023525/) ## Vulture — Matt Zoller Seitz Fi1m's normalised score 60/100 (inferred from the text). 15 November 2018. The series is an extraordinary prison break story turned humdrum and longer than it needs to be despite astutely observed details. Stellar performances by Arquette, Dano, and del Toro represent some of the actors' best work. [Read the review](https://www.vulture.com/2018/11/escape-at-dannemora-showtime-review.html) ## The Hollywood Reporter — Tim Goodman Fi1m's normalised score 45/100 (inferred from the text). 13 November 2018. Strong acting from the cast, including Arquette, Del Toro, and Dano, is undermined by pacing problems and unpleasant, unlikable characters that drag through the prison-break narrative. The series takes too long to build and fails to overcome genre constraints despite thorough research. [Read the review](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-reviews/escape-at-dannemora-review-1160496/) ## Collider — Allison Keene Rating ★★★★★. 13 November 2018. The series is a tense, atmospheric drama that reveals a bizarre true tale through strong performances from its leads. Del Toro, Dano, and especially Arquette deliver standout work in this acting showcase directed by Stiller. [Read the review](https://collider.com/escape-at-dannemora-review/) ## The Ringer — Alison Herman Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 19 November 2018. The critic sees the limited series as a strong example of Peak TV's ability to tackle modest-scale true stories with movie-star casts and cinematic style, highlighting Patricia Arquette's transformative performance as Tilly Mitchell and Benicio Del Toro's cunning turn as the mastermind. However, the seven-hour length feels slack and stretched, diluting tension in what could have been a tighter reverse-heist narrative. [Read the review](https://www.theringer.com/2018/11/19/tv/escape-at-dannemora-tv-showtime) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/tv/escape-at-dannemora.md