''Maze'' is a

prison film A prison film is a film genre concerned with prison life and often prison escape. These films range from acclaimed dramas examining the nature of prisons, such as ''Cool Hand Luke'', '' Midnight Express'', '' Brubaker'', '' Escape from Alcatraz'', ...

about the IRA Maze Prison escape of 38

Provisional Irish Republican Army The Irish Republican Army (IRA; ), also known as the Provisional Irish Republican Army, and informally as the Provos, was an Irish republican paramilitary organisation that sought to end British rule in Northern Ireland, facilitate Irish reu ...

(IRA) prisoners. It was written and directed by Stephen Burke and was released on 22 September 2017.

Cast

Tom Vaughan-Lawlor Tom Vaughan-Lawlor (born 4 November 1977) is an Irish actor. He is best known in Ireland for his roles as Nigel 'Nidge' Delaney in the RTÉ One series '' Love/Hate'' (2010–2014), and is known internationally for his role as Ebony Maw in '' Av ...

as Larry Marley * Barry Ward as Gordon * Martin McCann as Oscar *

Eileen Walsh Eileen Walsh (born 16 April 1977) is an Irish actress. Biography Born and raised in Cork, Ireland, Walsh was raised in a Catholic household, and had no intention of becoming an actress, until she followed in the footsteps of her elder sister ...

as Kate Marley * Aaron Monahan as Joe * Niamh McGrady as Jill *Ross McKinney as Danny Marley * Elva Trill as Young Widow * Tim Creed as Brendan 'Bik' McFarlane * Cillian O'Sullivan as

Bobby Storey Robert Storey (11 April 1956 – 21 June 2020) was a Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) member from Belfast, Northern Ireland. Prior to an 18-year conviction for possessing a rifle, he also spent time on remand for a variety of charges a ...

Patrick Buchanan Patrick Joseph Buchanan (; born November 2, 1938) is an American paleoconservative political commentator, columnist, politician, and broadcaster. Buchanan was an assistant and special consultant to U.S. Presidents Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, a ...

as Gerry Kelly * Andy Kellegher as Warder Williams * David Coakley as George *

Will Irvine Will may refer to: Common meanings * Will and testament, instructions for the disposition of one's property after death * Will (philosophy), or willpower * Will (sociology) * Will, volition (psychology) * Will, a modal verb - see Shall and will ...

as Maguire *

Stefan Dunbar Stefan may refer to: * Stefan (given name) * Stefan (surname) * Ștefan, a Romanian given name and a surname * Štefan, a Slavic given name and surname * Stefan (footballer) (born 1988), Brazilian footballer * Stefan Heym, pseudonym of German writ ...

as Ken * James Browne as Craig * Ella Connolly as Janet * Michael Power as John Adams *

Robert Fawsitt The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

as Tom * Seán T. Ó Meallaigh as Michael *

Aiden O'Hare Aiden was an American horror punk band from Seattle, Washington that formed in the spring of 2003. They achieved underground success during the mid to late 2000s with their classic lineup, featuring vocalist William Francis, guitarists Angel Ib ...

as O'Brien *

Conor Charlton Conor is a male given name of Irish origin. The meaning of the name is "Lover of Wolves" or "Lover of Hounds". '' Conchobhar/Conchubhar'' or from the name ''Conaire'', found in Irish legend as the name of the high king Conaire Mór and other hero ...

as Eoin *

Stevie Greaney Stevie may refer to: People with the name Given name *Stevie (given name), a list of people People with the nickname or alias *Stevie B, American singer, songwriter and record producer Steven Bernard Hill (born 1958) * Stevie J, stage name of Amer ...

as Prisoner *

Michelle Lehane Michelle may refer to: People *Michelle (name), a given name and surname, the feminine form of Michael * Michelle Courtens, Dutch singer, performing as "Michelle" * Michelle (German singer) * Michelle (Scottish singer) (born 1980), Scottish w ...

as Estate Agent * James Tolcher as Main Gate Guard * Paul Elliot as Tower Soldier

Reception

The

Traditional Unionist Voice The Traditional Unionist Voice (TUV) is a unionist political party in Northern Ireland. In common with all other Northern Irish unionist parties, the TUV's political programme has as its sine qua non the preservation of Northern Ireland's place ...

party said "After watching the trailer I am deeply concerned that the film is going to show a one-sided, very biased account of the Maze break-out. There is no account at all given in the trailer by the prison officers who served us during the Troubles."

Alex Maskey Alex Maskey (born 8 January 1952) is an Irish politician who has been Speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly since 2020 and was the first member of Sinn Féin to serve as Lord Mayor of Belfast from 2002 to 2003. He was Sinn Féin's longest s ...

Sinn Féin Sinn Féin ( , ; en, " eOurselves") is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active throughout both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur G ...

said "At the end of the day a prison escape is of huge human interest worldwide so I have no doubt people will go and watch the film. I would recommend to people, go and watch it and make your judgement - I would hope it wouldn’t glorify anything which is inappropriate.” The Playlist included it as one of their choices of underrated films of 2017 The film opened without previews to over €141,000 after its official release on Friday 22 September and was screened in more than 60 cinemas all over the island of Ireland. It set the 2017 record for the biggest opening weekend for an Irish film.

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, id=5752606, title=Maze 2017 films English-language Irish films 2017 thriller drama films Irish drama films Drama films based on actual events Films about the Irish Republican Army Films about The Troubles (Northern Ireland) Films set in 1983 Films set in Northern Ireland 2010s prison drama films Films about prison escapes 2017 drama films 2010s English-language films