Review: A Prophet (18)****

The warning signs flash brightly throughout this delicious story of corruption as a teenage small-time criminal finds himself in a tough French prison.
By The Newsroom
Published 22nd Jan 2010, 11:13 BST
Updated 22nd Jan 2010, 11:13 BST

Clichs and stereotyping are kept to a minimum throughout this riveting chronicle of prison life.

Malik (Tahir Rahim) finds himself on a rapid downward spiral as he is adopted by an elderly big shot and used as a courier and bag man for a robbery when he is able to leave prison for a day on compassionate grounds. Soon he's embroiled in another crime. It will bring him into contact with a rival gangster and opportunities to manipulate his bosses.

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In a harsh world of convicts Corsicans, Italians and Muslims are all at war with one another. Malik manages to move easily between one world and another.

Critics around the world have raved about Jacques Audiard's cold, stark and ber-realistic picture. Some have said it is the best prison drama ever made.

That is going too far. But certainly A Prophet lifts the lid on the realities of prison life. It's hard, relentless and pitiless. Jail time is not a barrel of laughs. Audiard's slow-moving tale proves it.

On limited release