Plot

Based on the real-life prison break of two political captives, Escape From Pretoria is a race-against-time thriller set in the tumultuous apartheid days of South Africa.

Based on a book by one of the escapees, Jenkin, called Inside Out: Escape from Pretoria Prison, the film tells the true-life story of political prisoners Jenkin (Daniel Radcliffe) and Stephen Lee (Daniel Webber), two white South Africans who, along with other prisoners, hatched a plot to break out of Pretoria Central Prison in 1979 after being imprisoned (for sentences of 12 and 8 years respectively) on charges of "producing and distributing 18 different pamphlets on behalf of banned organizations" (including the ANC) during the apartheid era in South Africa.

Jenkin and Stephen studied together in college but saw the apartheid in full force in South Africa. They joined the movement for a democratic and free South Africa, where the society was not based on racial discrimination. They joined the ANC, which was prohibited at the time. Eventually, Jenkin and Stephen were arrested on charges of distributing pamphlets that endangered national security. The court sentences them both to make an example out of them and as a deterrence to other white South Africans who want to support the ANC activities. At the courthouse Lee attempts to escape but to no avail. Transported to Pretoria Prison, they meet Denis Goldberg, an older political prisoner serving four life sentences for previous work against apartheid. He shows them the ropes but discourages them from trying to escape. The prison is tightly secured with most gates being opened manually by keys and one last gate being operated electrically through a secured room. Inside the prison, the violent offenders wear a blue shirt, and non-violent offenders wear a gray one. Jenkin has managed to smuggle 360 Rand inside the prison by hiding a cigar capsule inside his anus.

Denis Goldberg (Ian Hart), helped to create and refine the details of the planned escape. Denis was part of trial with Nelson Mandela for plotting to overthrow the apartheid govt in South Africa. He was well respected in the prison and befriended Jenkins and Stephen early on. Jenkin gives the money to Denis for safe keeping as otherwise he ran the risk of being discovered.

The prison of Pretoria has 20-foot-high walls with barbed wires, search lights, guards with guns, and tunnels going around in circles inside prison property. Only one prison wall runs by a public street. Jenkin and Stephen declare from first day itself their intention break out. They are met by fellow prisoner Leonard (Mark Leonard Winter), who tells them no-one has ever succeeded in breaking the prison.

Jenkins's first idea is measuring the locks, using paper and sticks and make keys with wood. But measuring the locks doesn't work, so Jenkins eyeballs each key several time during the day (by making pretexts to run into the jailer) and creates measurements for them on paper. He steals wood from the workshop to create the replicas. By day 74, Jenkins tests the first key which works. By day 100 he has many keys, but upon testing some break and Jenkins is almost caught.

On Day 174 Captain Schnepel (Grant Piro) angrily interrupts Leonard's visit from his son when Leonard leans in to console him. The session is terminated prematurely, and Leonard's son is escorted out of the meeting areas forcibly, with Leonard helpless behind bars. Leonard is angry with Schnepel and is desperate to break out. Schnepel then sees Leonard, Jenkins and Stephen plotting in their room & suspects something is going on. Together they devise a mechanism to open the doors from the outside as many keyholes are not accessible from within the prison cells and from the inside the guarded areas. After a few trials and errors, the devise works. Jenkins realizes that to defeat the jail guards, they will need more resources and hence they recruit more prisoners into their plans. By day 296, they get soap bars to take impression of the outer fence keys. The soap bars with the key impressions are sent out of prison by securing them to the bottom of garbage bins. Schnepel is very watchful of Jenkins.

Jenkins and Leonard start testing their escape protocols at night and are again almost caught by the night duty guard who sees sweat beads on the ground but dismisses the evidence. Jenkins oversleeps as he is exhausted from his nightly excursions. He is confronted by Schnepel, who finds the key heads in his room, but Jenkins explains them as holders for his personal photographs. Jenkins starts having panic attacks but continues. By day 404 they start getting metal keys (they have 39 keys for 15 doors inside the prison) and hide them all over the prison, instead of in Jenkins room.

Jenkins, Leonard and Stephen are ready to leave but Denis refuses. He thinks the risk are too great due to the new gun tower erected outside the prison wall. Jenkins, Leonard and Stephen pick a night to make their escape. They make it to the last door before the public street and have to break through it since the key for that door doesn't work. They slip past the tower guard and onto the street and beyond.

When the break was discovered the South African govt launched the biggest manhunt in history. But the trio crossed in Mozambique, Tanzania and then onto London. They remained fugitives till they were pardoned in 1991. Denis was released from prison in 1985, after 22 yrs in prison. In 1994 Mandela became president of South Africa.