Shot Caller

How would you survive if you ended up in prison? What would you be willing to do? This gritty drama invites us to ponder such questions, as it follows happily married stockbroker Jacob Harlon (Games of Thrones star Nikolaj Coster-Waldau), who is incarcerated after a booze-induced car accident. In order to stay alive, Jacob joins a gang of white supremacists, agreeing to perform a variety of heinous, unthinkable tasks. As time passes, he becomes a different person, transforming into a hardened, well-connected convict who is feared by those around him. Some of this might sound familiar (especially if you've seen A Prophet, or even 80s Tom Selleck flick, An Innocent Man), but it never feels clichéd or generic. Also, Jacob's transformation is entirely convincing, thanks to an outstanding performance from Coster-Waldau. Shot Caller contains some brutal violence, but it works best as a character study, telling an authentic, involving story about the cost of survival in prison.