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Prettygoodfellas

"You broke your cherry!" was one of the many great lines from the film classic "Goodfellas". It would not be a huge surprise to find out that one or both of the co-writers of "A Prophet (Un Prophète)", Thomas Bidegain and Jacques Audiar, are fans of the Scorsese classic. In their gritty crime/jail drama, there are quite a few parallels at work. Their anti-hero, Malik (Tahar Rahim), in a role slightly reminiscent of Ray Liotta's Henry Hill, also must break his cherry in order to show his bosses that he belongs. The difference is that Malik is far more hesitant, and for good reason. His initiation is to murder someone in prison with him.

The one pushing Malik is César (Niels Arestrup), who is more personally involved than the Paul Sorvino boss of "Goodfellas" in the administering of physical punishment to those who do not obey. I understand there is a real possibility that the people in charge of this film never saw "Goodfellas" but even if they are copying, why not take from a classic?

Malik is 19 years old when he enters his first adult prison to serve six years. He has spent most of his life up until that point in trouble with the law. Malik is part Arab and part Corsican and this makes him valuable to the Corsican mob that controls the inside of the prison as well as a lot of crime that goes on outside its walls. He is illiterate but very far from stupid and, with the help of an education program, becomes proficient in multiple languages. This aptitude enables him to gain the confidence of César and to enhance his ability to earn.

Eventually, César pulls strings and gets Malik passes that enable him to leave the prison for 12-hour intervals. While outside, Malik takes care of business for César but also gets business going for himself; Malik becomes somewhat formidable in his own right. Ryad (Adel Bencherif), Malik's buddy on the outside, runs things for the two of them. Circumstance pushes both of them to a point of going for it all. The consequence for failing is certain death, but they are not deterred. Their decision to go for it gives "Un Prohete" its greatest tension.

Before they do go for it, the film wastes a bit of time with scenes that do not propel the story. Even so, at times it is exciting but too often substitutes violence for story. At these times, it resembles HBO's "Oz" but without the fun.

"Un Prophete" is long, clocking in at an exhausting 149 minutes, at least 30 of which are unnecessary. This is becoming an all too common complaint of mine when it comes to dramas currently being produced. When you make a film this long, you better be able to hold the audience's attention. Unfortunately, "Un Prophete" doesn't have the strength to hold it together for the entire time. It aimed for "Goodfellas" but only achieved "Prettygoodfellas".