A compelling film simply because in essence it is the love story of two convicts...Willem Dafoe is both brutal and gentle as a prison lord who befriends the young and naive Ed Furlong. Throughout the movie, I was silent with fear...Bravo Buscemi for creating such a raw and human prison film without gratuitous violence and sex. In fact, more violence would've ruined the intensity of the film as a whole. And thank god for the few moments of comic relief&#65533;some of the only chances a viewer gets to release some of the pent up tension carried throughout the film. My only warning to possible viewers is this...be certain you are in the mood for a serious prison film when you watch, this is not a user-friendly piece of art.