A24 has made a name with their taste-making choices, while “A Prayer Before Dawn” might not have been on your radar, the first trailer is certainly going to make you sit up and take notice.
Originally slated to star Charlie Hunnam, rising actor Joe Cole (“Green Room,” “Peaky Blinders“) takes the lead role, in this based on a true story tale about English boxer Billy Moore , who gets incarcerated at Klong Prem (aka the Bangkok Hilton), where he trains in the art of Muay Thai Boxing, and fights to survive. Jean-Stephane Sauvaire (“Johnny Mad Dog“) directs. Here’s the official synopsis:
A Prayer Before Dawn is the remarkable true story of Billy Moore, a young English boxer incarcerated in two of Thailand’s most notorious prisons. He is quickly thrown into a terrifying world of drugs and gang violence, but when the prison authorities allow him to take part in the Muay Thai boxing tournaments, he realizes this might be his chance to get out. Billy embarks on a relentless, action-packed journey from one savage fight to the next, stopping at nothing to do whatever he must to preserve his life and regain his freedom. Shot in a an actual Thai prison with a cast of primarily real inmates, A Prayer Before Dawn is a visceral, thrilling journey through an unforgettable hell on earth.
Following a premiere this spring at the Cannes Film Festival, “A Prayer Before Dawn” hits cinemas on May 19, 2018.