A Prayer Before Dawn (film)

Did You Know?

• The film has a 92% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 65 reviews.
• The climax was filmed at the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center, known for the CPDRC Dancing Inmates.

Plot

Billy Moore, a young British boxer and heroin addict, is arrested in Thailand and charged with possession of stolen goods and a firearm. He is incarcerated in Klong Prem prison, where he is moved into a crowded cell ruled by cell leader Keng, forced to sleep next to a corpse, and witnesses a fellow inmate raped at knifepoint. His interactions with prisoners and staff are tense; he bites a corrections officer's neck after being refused painkillers.

After punishment, he befriends a transgender prisoner named Fame. Life worsens as he retreats into drug abuse, and he beats two Muslim chefs nearly to death after being bribed with ya ba by a corrupt officer. Billy attempts suicide by slitting his wrist but survives. Driven to fight his demons, he joins the boxing team with Fame's help, quickly adapting to Muay Thai and winning his first bout.

Impressed, the prison warden Preecha transfers him to the boxing team cell, making him the first foreigner to compete in the national Muay Thai tournament. He develops camaraderie with other boxers and receives a Sak Yant. Keng's gang threatens him with a pin prick attack if he loses. Billy has a hernia from drug abuse, but still competes.

In a gruelling match, he takes multiple shots to the stomach and is fouled, but knocks his opponent out with a spinning back elbow. He vomits blood and passes out. Rushed to a hospital, he sneaks out into the city but returns unnoticed. Transferred to another ward, he meets his father, played by the real Billy Moore, and they exchange a solemn smile.

Production

In October 2014, Charlie Hunnam was set to star, with Jean-Stéphane Sauvaire directing from a screenplay by Jonathan Hirschbein and Nick Saltrese, based on Billy Moore's memoir. In October 2015, Joe Cole replaced Hunnam. Thai authorities denied permission to film in the real prisons, so production used the decommissioned Nakhon Pathom prison for scenes set in Chiang Mai Central Prison and Klong Prem Central Prison. The climax was filmed at the courtyard of the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center, with several of its inmates participating.

Release

The book came out in 2014 from Maverick House. A24 secured the U.S. film rights in February 2017, and Altitude Film Distribution got the UK rights that April. The movie debuted at Cannes on 15 May 2017 and later played at South by Southwest on 12 March 2018. It hit UK cinemas on 20 July 2018, while U.S. viewers could watch it on DirecTV Cinema from 12 July 2018, followed by a limited theatrical run on 10 August 2018.