Overview
A gripping tale of survival and redemption unfolds within the brutal confines of a Thai prison.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Extreme
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Graphic
- harrowing
- oppressive
- visceral
- intense movie night
- arthouse cinema night
What critics said
Critics broadly found the film harrowing but rewarding, praising its immersive prison odyssey and Joe Cole's outstanding central performance.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The Nakhon Pathom Prison setting is rendered through close physical proximity, disorientation, and the protagonist's direct experience.
Billy's Ya Ba addiction compounds his struggle to survive imprisonment and participate in Muay Thai tournaments.
Billy's Muay Thai bouts become a means of navigating prison life and reclaiming limited control.
An English boxer trapped in a Thai prison must negotiate an unfamiliar social and linguistic environment.
Films like A Prayer Before Dawn, and why
Hunger
harrowing prison survival, physical brutality, and immersive institutional realism
The Fighter
intense boxing-centered drama shaped by addiction, punishment, and personal endurance
Starred Up
brutal incarceration narrative with documentary-like immediacy and psychological pressure
Southpaw
true-story combat drama emphasizing bodily suffering, survival, and redemption
Movie Details
- Director
- Jean-Stéphane Sauvaire
- Release Date
- 2018-05-24
- Runtime
- 116 min
- Rating
- 6.7 / 10 (674)
Cast
- Joe Cole
- Vithaya Pansringarm
- Pornchanok Mabklang
- Somrak Khamsing
- Nic Shake
- Panya Yimmumphai
- Sura Sirmalai
- Sakda Niamhom
- Billy Moore
- Komsan Polsan
Where to watch in United States
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is A Prayer Before Dawn about?
- An addicted English boxer turns to Muay Thai tournaments as his most perilous chance to survive a Thai prison.
- What is A Prayer Before Dawn like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of A Prayer Before Dawn as brisk, its intensity as extreme and its storytelling as layered.
- Is A Prayer Before Dawn violent?
- Yes. Ember rates the violence in A Prayer Before Dawn as graphic.
- What did critics think of A Prayer Before Dawn?
- Critics broadly found the film harrowing but rewarding, praising its immersive prison odyssey and Joe Cole's outstanding central performance.
- Which films are like A Prayer Before Dawn?
- Films with a similar feel include Hunger, The Fighter, Starred Up, and Southpaw.
- How long is A Prayer Before Dawn?
- A Prayer Before Dawn runs 116 minutes.
- Where can I watch A Prayer Before Dawn?
- In United States, A Prayer Before Dawn is available to rent or buy from Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home.
