A Prophet

Morally ambiguous tale about a young Arab prisoner who gets entangled with a Corsican Mafia group on the inside.  This first hour of this crime drama is absorbing as our youthful protagonist must fend for himself in an environment that is totally foreign to him.  Newcomer actor Tahar Rahim is quietly convincing as the initially naïve Malik who gradually learns to adapt in order to survive.  His crisis of conscience in the beginning is believable and compelling.  As his skills and confidence grows, however, the conflict and tension disappears.  Everything becomes so easy for him after a while, our emotional connection to Malik lessens.  His one day leaves for good behavior allow him to do so much, it stretches credibility.  The picture would have also benefited from a tighter running time.  At  2 hrs 29 minutes, the story does not advance like an action picture should. There still is enough merits to recommend this as a good prison drama, just not a great one.