‘Bruton’ Review: Theo Rossi is Commanding in The Most Unique Prison Film in Years
The prison film has been done to death. It’s no surprise why. For those who have avoided brushes with the law to the extent of incarceration, there’s a certain morbid curiosity about the lives of those in lock-up. From Oz to The Shawshank Redemption and everything in between, stories from behind bars have been wrung dry for all their worth. Or so it would seem. That’s where the film Bruton comes in.
Fresh off its premiere at the Locarno International Film Festival, Bruton tells the wild true story of Bryan Bruton, an inmate whose 11 years behind bars were marked with smuggling, an escape attempt, and an incredible amount of resilience.
Even a story as unique as this could fall flat under the wrong filmmaker. Nevertheless, writer-director Vincent Grashaw’s Bruton honors its title subject with infectiously propulsive energy, a palpable feeling of hope, and a subtle yet commanding turn from Theo Rossi.
The tone of Bruton is essential to its success
Making his money slinging dope, Bryan Bruton (Theo Rossi) had his own little slice of heaven in Jacksonville, Florida, finding joy in his community, his wife Sienna (Aya Cash), and his daughter Crystal.
His dangerous lifestyle, however, can’t last forever, as one fateful night a tragic accident leads to a manslaughter conviction that lands Bryan 10 years in prison. Locked up, Bruton has one goal in mind: make it out to see his wife and child by any means necessary.
The way Bruton is told is as essential as the actual story being told. After all, Bryan made a name for himself telling his prison stories on the internet in an impassioned manner. Vincent Grashaw more than rises to the occasion in telling his story. There is so much to get through in Bryan’s story that it would be easy for a film of its sub two-hour runtime to buckle under the weight of.
Grashaw’s grasp on pacing is, thankfully, impeccable, gliding through the major moments in Bruton’s storied prison stay in impressive style, fostered by a soundtrack full of great needle drops and a strong edit from Grashaw. Tonally, Bruton bucks expectation by actually remaining, if not lighthearted, relatively upbeat given the circumstances. The film focuses not on wallowing in misery but making it through, looking at this as a strange new chapter for Bruton to get through rather than a dead end.
While the opening stretch of Bruton setting up Bryan’s life on the outside is well done, everything that happens from then on makes one compulsively lean in with interest, to the point where your back might ache afterward from hunching. Bruton’s early endeavor using a transactional sexual relationship with a prison guard played by Tammy Blanchard to smuggle in cell phones to sell to the other inmates provides a fascinating look into the sort of ramshackle economy between inmates.
Vincent Grashaw paints a vivid picture of prison life
Similar to his directorial style, Vincent Grashaw is gifted in the screenwriting department at painting a vivid picture of a world people might not know about. Prison is a scary place, but it’s also a place with a strange sort of community, such as the one that fosters between Bruton and fellow inmate Kai, played by a wonderfully against type Tony Hale. Just as well, Grashaw portrays that there’s danger at all sides, from ill-intentioned inmates to corrupt guards.
There’s also gray areas. Some of the best scenes of the film are between Theo Rossi and Tammy Blanchard. Both characters they’re playing are doing the wrong thing, one falsely leading the other on for favors and the other exploiting the power dynamic due to her own loneliness.
Yet they form a strange sort of bond. Drawn together completely by circumstance and exploiting each other’s vulnerabilities, there’s a kinship nonetheless, that the two actors manage to make feel… sort of sweet in a weird way. It’s one of the great cinematic pairings of 2026 and has not left my head since.
Bruton’s prison escape set piece is an example of everything it does well on a storytelling level. Vincent Grashaw doesn’t overplay it or exaggerate the details; instead, he lets it all play out in its awkward, desperate manner.
The planning, the false starts, the navigation through the different dynamics of the prison, all the hurdles to get through during the escape, and the crash down to Earth—the messiness is the juice here. We’ve seen plenty of prison escapes, but never like this, and that ethos is the perfect encapsulation of the stylized yet naturalistic and clear-eyed technique that Bruton goes for.
In Bruton, Theo Rossi gets the acting showcase he’s long deserved
Of course, the lifeblood of Bruton is Theo Rossi. From the opening narration, it’s easy to think we’re getting some sort of classic Scorsese anti-hero. While the epic (yet intimate) scope of Bruton can often recall the likes of Goodfellas, that initial read of the character is not fair at all to what Rossi does with portraying this one-of-a-kind individual.
Rossi imbues his portrayal of Bryan Bruton with an admittedly slick swagger about him. He’s always thinking five steps ahead, prone to a little mischief now and again, and frequently bites off more than he can chew, but if Theo Rossi communicates anything through his performance, it’s an incredible resilience.
Never at any point, even in the toughest moments of the film where Rossi struggles under the spiritual and physical pain he endures, does he let that spark of life leave his eyes. His deep care for those he loves is palpable. This isn’t a flashy performance, yet it’s one that feels like watching a true flesh and blood individual. In other words, the perfect showcase for what Theo Rossi can do.
Bruton works on many levels. It’s vivid, stylistically accomplished, tonally surprising, and bolsters the sort of acting showcase an industry veteran like Theo Rossi deserves. Most of all, it’s honest, never for all of its cinematic wizardry losing its heart. There have been many prison films, and there will be many prison films, yet I doubt there’ll be any as special as Bruton anytime soon.
Bruton just had its premiere at the Locarno International Film Festival and is still awaiting a release date.
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